


The Blue Shadow

by IsaWilson76



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Family, Season 7 AU, Vigilantism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-05-13 03:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 61,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14741228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsaWilson76/pseuds/IsaWilson76
Summary: My name is William Clayton. After 5 months of deception, I return to Star City with only one goal: To save my father. Admittedly, I'm new to this whole superhero thing, but even with Black Siren showing me the ropes, I've still got a long way to go. To do that, I must become something else. I must become someone else. I am the Blue Shadow.





	1. A Son's Life Sentence

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I’m back!Here it is, the season 7 AU of my creation! Other than that, let me know what you think so far.  
> Oh and Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

If William Clayton had a list of the worst days of his life, this would be #2 under the day his mother died, which also happened to be today, May 17. He was outside of the interrogation room, waiting for Felicity to let him in. More than anything, William wanted to shut himself in his room and block out anything that indicated that his father was going to prison-for real this time. He just didn't understand, his father had done a lot fo good for this city, his case was dismissed and he saved a lot of people? Wasn't that supposed to be good enough not to go to prison?

If William didn't know better, he would think that law enforcement agents had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Felicity's tear stained face. No words needed to be spoken to know that Oliver was ready for his son.

Slowly, he walked in, feeling the air being punched out of his lungs at the sight of his father in chains.

"What's happening?" William asked softly. "I don't understand."

"Don't worry." said Oliver. "I'm gonna explain everything."

William nodded, bracing himself for the worst. In a way, it was. Oliver explained that in order to get help to stop Ricardo Diaz, he had to sacrifice his freedom. He had to sacrifice his happiness for the safety of the city. During the whole explanation, Felicity just stood against the wall, holding back tears, unable to watch her step-son as his face morphed into a picture of horror and fear.

"No." William said defiantly. "They can't do this. They can't take you away from us!"

"I didn't have a choice." said Oliver. "Diaz might have gotten away but at least the corrupt officials are being arrested as we speak."

"I don't care about corrupt officials." William insisted. "I've already lost my mom, I'm not gonna lose you too."

"I know, buddy." Oliver smiled sadly. "You won't. Remember what I said at the trial? I'm right here with you." He pointed to the wounded heart inside William.

"No." William choked out through tears."No, no, no, no!" He pulled his father close to him, holding onto him as if his life depended on it. "I don't want you to go. Don't go, please. Don't leave me, Dad. Don't leave me."

"I'm sorry, buddy." Oliver kissed his son's head. "But I have to."

"Mr. Queen?" Agent Watson stood near the door. "Let's go."

Oliver nodded, getting up only to be restrained in handcuffs by the FBI Agent. Even when Watson saw the look on William's face, her stone-like face didn't show the slightest bit of emotion.

For William time was slowing down, and Felicity led him out of the door where the media reporters were waiting for him, like a pack of hyenas waiting to devour their next meal.

While Oliver gave a small speech to the world about how much the city needed to be fixed, William tuned out all the sounds around him and fiddled with his fingers. Felicity of course, gave him a small pat on the shoulder but no amount of comfort in the world could make up for the frustration and pain weighing in his stomach like a dumbell. If that wasn't enough, it wouldn't be for at least a few days before William would see his father again. But this time he would have already been beaten and bruised by anyone who had the chance to do so. He was the Green Arrow, so of course Oliver was going to be the Slabside's bitch before he would be taken inside the thick walls.

 _But he's a tough man._  His Auntie Lyla had once told him.  _In all the years of I've known him, there is nothing that man won't do to survive._

The only thing that would make William feel better, was if the FBI suddenly changed their minds and let Oliver go.

But that would be unrealistic. There was no way they were gonna let his dad come back to his family.

* * *

After Oliver was hauled into the prison transport van, the Queen-Smoak-Clayton residence was submerged in melancholy. When Felicity unlocked the doors, she wasn't surprised to find that William had the walking pattern of a zombie. She wanted to give him his space as he slowly made his way into his bedroom. He closed the wooden door behind him and plopped on his bed. Apart from his nose, William's face was buried in his fluffy pillow. For a prolonged amount of time, he just lay in his bed, dead to the world. Until he heard a knocking on his door.

"Go away." William grumbled from his pillow. He would never normally snap at someone for no reason but after the day he had, he was pretty sure he had a solid excuse to spend hours brooding.

To add the cherry on top of this emotional rollercoaster, this day marked one year since his mother was killed in the same explosion where his aunt was put in a coma. It was a cruel irony, that William lost both of his parents on the same day in two years.

Yes, Felicity would have custody over him, but it didn't ease the pain any less. But at least he wasn't an orphan.

Minutes turned into hours and by then the moon was at its peak. Except for having to go to the bathroom a couple of times, William hadn't moved from the bed, preferring to stay under the covers and wake up from this nightmare. But it would have been pointless anyway, that nightmare of his parents being gone was a cold harsh reality, a reality that Ricardo Diaz seemed to embody.

The door slid open and Raisa came in with a plate of hot dinner. "William?" She asked. "I normally would detest against having food in your room but here's some dinner."

Right on cue, a roar erupted from William's stomach and he clenched the bedsheets, not wanting to eat. He was too upset to swallow.

"I know it's hard." said Raisa. "But Mr. Oliver is a brave man. Have hope for him."

"How can I?" William lifted his head from his soaked pillow. "Dad just went to prison for the rest of his life which means he won't come home again. And Mr. Lance is dead. How can I possibly have hope?"

"It is a most difficult time." said Raisa. "But your father will never leave here." She pointed t his heart. "I know it seems ridiculous but I think things will get better for you."

A pregnant pause settled on the two people in the pre-teen's room before William asked, "What do you think is happening to Dad right now?"

* * *

"Move it!" The guard pushed Oliver into the cafeteria, the last place he wanted to be, besides actually being in prison. The second he put his foot out of his cell, everyone was eyeing him like a hawk. Even the cooks cast him a dirty look as he went to get his food.

"Well look who it is." A man with rotting teeth grinned near him. "Don't you remember me? You once busted my business."

"You were selling drugs." Oliver kept his fingers glued to the tray that had his dinner on it, hoping to restrain himself from making a scene. But even he knew the chances of him not being involved in a fight were nonexistent.

"Been waiting a long time for this, Green Arrow." One of the man's buddies cracked his knuckles.

Before Oliver knew it, he was throwing punches left and right, just to shoo his attackers away. Even when the guards arrived just to handcuff him, Oliver didn't count on them helping him. Why would they? This was the Slabside, the lion's den of the baddest of the bad. Which meant it was every bitch for themselves out there. At least on Lian Yu, in a way, he had some form of a companion. Yao Fei and Shado, then Slade and Sara, then Tania when he returned to the island. But even so, it wasn't like there weren't long periods of time when Oliver wasn't fending for himself; he had only one goal then: to survive

This time, he had a new goal-to live. For his wife, his son and the man who was as close to him as a father would be since Robert's suicide.

Looking back now, whilst in solitary confinement (as punishment by the Slabside's rules), maybe he should have told Felicity, at least to prepare her for life without Oliver. Knowing her, she would viciously chew him out about not telling her his deal with the FBI, for lying to her.

And William. God, he was about to be 13 next month and he would miss it. He would miss everything. His first date, teaching him how to shave, driving him to science fairs, making pancakes with him and so many of the little things that made him cherish every moment of being in his child's life. Oliver was so proud of his boy, that he could burst. The next time he would see his son, he wouldn't be allowed to hug him. Probably forever.

"My boy." He whispered, a faint tear rolling down his cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Oliver Queen wasn't too happy with the bargain he had to strike just to save his city. But to protect his friends and family? He wouldn't have done it any other way. In fact, he couldn't have done it any other way.

Parents aren't perfect, and Oliver wasn't any different. But he did everything in his power to protect the ones he loved and cared for. Especially his own son. His flesh and blood. His pride and joy.


	2. The Funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

**January 2018, Star City Middle School**

"Well kiddo, we're here." Quentin Lance pulled up to the school, where the 6th grader was supposed to be in the next 10 minutes. "I'll pick you up after school." He then noticed a downcast look on the young boy's face. "What's up with you?"

"Oh nothing." William replied quickly.

"Come on, I put up with your old man for years." Quentin chuckled. "I'd know that face anywhere. So come on, we've got time."

William took a small breath, letting his walls down for a small pinch of time. "Mr. Lance-"

"How many times do I gotta tell ya?" Quentin interrupted him. "Your dad may want you to call me Mr. Lance, but you can call me Grandpa all you want."

"Right." William nodded. "If you saw anything wrong, which involved someone you cared about, it wouldn't be wrong to try to get justice for them, right?"

"I think that depends on what the situation is and what kind of justice you're thinking of." Quentin answered honestly. "Why?"

"Nothing." William grabbed his backpack and opened the door. "I gotta go."

Before he stepped out of the car, Quentin grabbed his arm. "Listen William, I know this city is a scary place to be, no doubt about that. But you're still changing into the man you're gonna be. If you ever feel alone at times, I find it helpful to listen to your gut."

"My gut?" William repeated.

"Take it from a cop." said Quentin proudly. "Your gut is almost never wrong. But its message is always the same: You're not invincible, but all you can do is try."

"Uh, thanks, Grandpa." said William, not really understanding Quentin's words.

* * *

**5 months later**

William looked in the mirror, adjusting his blue tie. He silently thanked Quentin for teaching him the stupidly frustrating Windsor Knot. It had been 2 and a half weeks since he died and Oliver was still in prison. But the real injustice of today, was that he wasn't even allowed to attend Quentin's funeral.

"William?" Felicity opened the door, wearing her signature glasses and a black dress. "Are you ready?"

William nodded looking at himself, cringing at the small bags under his eyes. He hadn't gotten much sleep as he had a string of nightmares of either his entire family being dead or someone telling him that his dad had been beaten to death.

"It'll be alright." Felicity cupped his cheek. "Be strong, ok?"

"Ok." William answered softly. He grabbed his suit jacket and headed out into the car.

* * *

To say that the funeral was a melting pot of sadness and anguish, would be the understatement of the century. Everyone who knew Quentin Lance showed up to say their goodbyes. Except for Oliver, due to obvious reasons. Dinah Lance sobbed uncontrollably and was comforted by her daughter, Sara.

Laurel Lance of Earth 2 also attended but kept her distance and her head down, not wanting to upset anyone, let alone the doppelganger of her deceased mother.

Roy Harper and Thea Queen were also present, shedding tears here and there. Thea was pregnant with their baby so she felt even more despair knowing that her son or daughter would never meet the man who had given her so much hope and love.

All of the Legends and Team Flash showed up in support of their friends who knew Quentin. Some of them knew him but regardless of each person's relationship with him, they had lost a good friend, so they were all in this together. Even Supergirl showed up along with her sister.

William watched with a broken heart as Quentin's casket was lowered into the ground, slowly being covered by the dirt.

"Bye Grandpa."

* * *

The reception had some chatter but it wasn't much. By then, Kara and Alex had to go back to their earth so they could try to deal with their rouge Kryptonian. The Legends stuck around for a bit before having to go back because of another anachronism. Team Flash stayed for the reception.

Everyone had a similar conversation among themselves: Quentin Lance. They all talked about how he impacted their lives, what he was like, everyone sharing memories of their time with him.

William had just gotten himself a glass of water, when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Dinah and Sara Lance still comforting each other. He had guessed that Earth 2 Laurel Lance had already left, possibly not wanting to make a scene.

He walked up to the mother-daughter duo and said, "Excuse me?"

Dinah Lance looked at him and said, "Hello. You must be William. Quentin told us about you." She sobbed a little more at the mention of his name.

"I'm really sorry for your loss." said William.

"Thanks kiddo." Sara ruffled his hair. "Thank you for being here."

"Of course." said William. "Grandpa would have wanted me to." Just then, both Dinah and Sara froze and William realized what had just come out of his mouth. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

A chuckling sound reached William's ears and it was coming from Sara's mother. "You know, when Sara and Laurel had their first boyfriend, Quentin would joke that he was too young to have grandkids. I think he deep down, he was waiting for one."

"It looks like he got his chance." Sara looked at William with pride.

He nodded at her. "I think I better check up on my Aunt Thea. Again, I'm really sorry." Before leaving them, he gave them both a comforting hug and walked past a woman named Nyssa. But when he started heading toward Thea, he saw Curtis Holt talking with Rene Ramirez.

"Hey, Mr. Holt and Mr. Ramirez?" William asked them.

"Hey WIlliam." Curtis looked at William with concern. "Are you ok? Do I need to drive you home?"

"I'm fine." said William. "Have you seen my aunt Thea?"

"I think I saw her with Felicity going into the ladies room." said Rene.

"Where's Dinah?" asked William.

"I think she had to take care of something." said Curtis. "Why?"

In William's pockets, his fingers rubbed against each other in anticipation. "I just wanted to say, even though you guys had your...differences with my dad, thank you all for helping him save this city."

"Don't mention it, kid." said Rene.

"By the way, thanks for the tie." William pointed to his royal blue tie.

"I told you blue was your color." Curtis said to him. When William went outside and walked past a corner, he saw Dinah Drake talking to the last person he wanted to see: Agent Samandra Watson. What was worse, they were in front of the ladies room. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was probably something to do with the police force.

William's blood boiled beneath his skin and he clenched his fists in order to keep his anger under control. He silently made his way down the hall, he couldn't help but "accidentally" bump into her.

"Sorry." William muttered sarcastically. He would have made it to an empty room to wait for his aunt if the agent hadn't stopped him said,

"You should be happy, William. Your father did a great service for this city."

Releasing a hot steam of air through his nostril, William grabbed the FBI agent's hand and thrust it off his shoulder. He couldn't keep it in anymore.

"How  **dare** you?" He spoke in a rising tone. "You think you can just show up to my grandpa's funeral, which is something my dad can't be here for, and you tell me to be  **happy?!** "

Dinah Drake's eyes widened, unable to form words. Part of her was proud of William for standing up to the bitch, and another part wanted to steer him away from Watson's claws.

"William, let me handle this." She warned.

"No, I think the boy deserves to know who he's yelling at." said Watson. "I'm a woman of the law and my job is to uphold it. Your father is the embodiment of what the law stands against and thanks to his pride, he's never getting out of prison."

"Yeah." William sneered. "But I think it's time you know who's the real screw-up here and it's not Dinah or me. Yes my dad killed people, but they were all bad people and just because he shoots arrows and jumps off buildings doesn't make him perfect. So you can lock him up all you want and you can charge him with whatever crime you want, but it won't ever erase the truth: That my father, Oliver Jonas Queen, is 10 times the hero you'll ever be."

"William, that's enough!" Felicity came out with Thea, jumping in front of William. "Thea, take William outside."

As Thea led her nephew out, Felicity adjusted her glasses and said, "I'm sorry Agent Watson, it's been a tough time for him."

"I don't give a damn what the boy thinks." Watson said firmly. "He's only a child, it's not like he can do anything."

Felicity turned white as a sheet, hoping to God that William didn't hear that. But it was in vain, as William froze in his tracks in the hallway and asked his aunt, "Can we go home?"

"No problem." Thea said in a voice that was holding back outrage. "Ice cream on the way home, no questions asked."

* * *

On the way back William ate his ice cream slowly. But no matter how good the cold dessert tasted, nothing could wash away the bitterness on his tongue. He was told that words usually don't mean anything and that he should ignore anything anyone used as an insult.

But he couldn't stop hearing Agent Watson's cruel words:

" _He's only a child. It's not like he can do anything."_

He felt like someone had viciously stabbed him, pouring all of their hate or arrogance in two small sentences. Since it was Watson, it was probably the latter.

Still he couldn't shake off the feeling that maybe she had a point.

 _When Damien Darhk kidnapped you, did you try to escape?_ He yelled at himself in his head.  _No. When you were kidnapped a second time and lost Mom, did you fight back while you were in that boat? No. When Dad was on trial, did you do anything to try to stop it? No. All this time you just sat there and did nothing._

"Hey William?" Thea stopped in front of their apartment building. "We're here."

Both of them stepped out of the car and went upstairs to the apartment. When Thea tried to comfort William he immedeatly snapped at her, wanting to be alone before shutting himself in his room.

He sat on his bed, staring into nothing, feeling empty inside. He felt ashamed for being the Green Arrow's son and so unbelievably pathetic at the same time. It was then he looked into the mirror, staring at his reflection, and decided that he was done being pathetic. He was done not doing taking action. He was done being the baby.

Now William Clayton had a mission:

Avenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now the story really begins!


	3. The Thirteenth Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we've gotten the menus, now it's time to look for the soup of the day!
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

It was absurd, crazy, and mind boggling insanity. What kind of young boy would even think of becoming a vigilante in America's number 2 crime ridden city? (Number one being Gotham of course)

William Clayton, that's who. Despite a few housing changes, he still had his mind on the mission.

Thanks to the power of the media and a few nosy conspiracy theorists/reporters, William and Felicity's faces were known to the public. So ever since Oliver was arrested, Felicity had been stalked, blackmailed, and even sent death threats from people who still hated the Green Arrow. But it was William who took brutal harassment from kids his own age. He practically had a "Kick Me" sign glued to his back, when he started going to Star City Middle as the new kid who happened to be the Mayor's illegitimate son. But when Oliver gave up his secret identity as the Green Arrow, it was open season on the boy. William had tried his best to go to school, but he had been beaten up by other kids whose parents were criminals Oliver had stopped. A few teachers were failing him on purpose, his locker had the word, "Murderer" spray painted on in red. Nobody treated him kindly at all and the ones who wanted to were too scared to do so.

In one incident, he was ganged up by a bunch of boys who stole his backpack that had his phone in it and locked him in the janitors closet and left him there. He was stuck in there for a short amount of time before mixing some of the cleaning chemicals to cause a small explosion in the lock.

When word of the incident reached Felicity's ears, she decided that it was the last straw. So she pulled him out of the school and switched him to homeschooling when they had to move out of their apartment into an ARGUS safehouse just a little in the countryside. The safehouse wasn't too far from a small town but not too close to it either.

But living away from Star City would not stop William from preparing for his mission, even if law enforcement already was on the job.

Since last month, both ARGUS and the FBI have been looking for Ricardo Diaz, but so far had never been able to find a single trace of him. It was no surprise, since he was like a shadow, unseen and untouchable. So in order to beat the shadow, William had to become one himself.

So for weeks, he had scoured the Internet, finding the best information on martial arts, how to build muscle, weapons and even the basics of espionage. He had taught himself some basic self defense moves from finding courses on YouTube. He even created a digital crime board of Ricardo Diaz and his activity that was protected by a series of firewalls and a passcode (courtesy of an unsuspecting Felicity who thought she was protecting her step-son's computer from being hacked by nasty stalkers of the Green Arrow.)

The problem was, the World Wide Web wasn't enough to prepare him to fight crime. That's why first he needed to train with somebody who knew how to fight. He had asked his Uncle Diggle for a few lessons yesterday, but he said he would think about it considering his busy schedule regarding finding Diaz. Of course he adored William, but now was probably not a good time.

So William found himself in quite a predicament: Sure he could always say he wanted a way to blow off some steam after what he had been through but who would give him the training he needed without putting two and two together? There was no way anyone would let a kid go out onto the field, let alone William if he just told them he wanted to be a crimefighter-he was pretty sure he would literally be under house arrest if he told them.

Superhero business was a lot harder than it looked.

All of the complications of his mission kept William awake one night as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. His throat became sandpaper and he looked at his clock and saw that the time was 1:30 am and the date read June 15-his 13th birthday.

He smiled, happy that he was finally a teenager. But at the same time, his dry throat was getting to him, so he crept out of the bed, went down stairs into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. While he was filling it with water, he started to feel a little lightheaded. At first he thought he must have been tired but when both of his hands started to fall asleep William put down the glass and started washing his hands. It was strange; he had never heard of his hands falling asleep.

 _Maybe I'm just super tired._ said William. Grabbing his glass of water, he carried it upstairs, the strange feeling in his hands fading away.

* * *

**8 hours later**

"William?" He hear Raisa's voice near him. "Wakey wakey birthday boy." He groaned similarly to a cow, not wanting to get up from his nice cozy bed. "Look at you, already grumpy." He groaned again. "Well, that won't stand. It's your birthday and you're going to celebrate it." William still wouldn't budge but Raisa wouldn't give up that easily.

"Felicity!" She called out. "The Bucket is needed!"

"Coming up!" Felicity replied, fishing ice cubs out of the freezer and filling a glass of water.

Despite hearing all of what was going on, William wouldn't move. He was too tired to move. Then again, that's what happens when a teenager stays up late, plotting on how to become a crimefighter.

"This is your last chance." Raisa waved the glass of icy cold water in her hand once Felicity gave it to her.

"Don't care." William grumbled from inside his covers.

"Aww." Felicity cooed. "They grow up so fast!" Then her demeanor changed from joyful to serious. "I don't like it."

Nodding at Raisa, the glass was poured onto William's face, some of the ice reaching his neck. As soon as the first drop of water reached his skin, he gave a shrill scream and literally fell out of bed. Scrambling from the covers tangling his limbs, he got up to find both women giggling at the sight of him.

"Not. Funny." He muttered.

"It wasn't supposed to be." Felicity remarked. "Now come on, I got Raisa to make a breakfast special for you and then after that, you're getting dressed."

"Fine." William muttered, rubbing a hand through his bed-ridden hair. "I'll be out in a second."

After a short while, William came out in today's attire: His favorite red and white letter jacket over a blue plaid shirt, coupled with jeans and sneakers. His disheveled hair was combed nicely and he looked more awake than when he got out of bed. Yet Felicity couldn't help but notice he was slowly getting taller than her.

"You alright Will?" She asked.

"Yeah?" William sat down ate some of his blueberry pancakes (because it was his birthday, he had a lot of whipped cream on them).

"Cause you look a bit pale." Felicity put her hand to William's forehead. "Are you feeling ok? You're not warm but you are a bit cold."

"Yeah." said William. "I'm fine. Just a little chilly."

"I warned you against having the AC on all night." Raisa lightly scolded. "But not to worry, Miss Lyla is coming over to pick you up soon. I suggest you eat quickly."

"Why is Aunt Lyla coming over?" William questioned his step-mother.

"Because," Felicity sat down, drinking her coffee down in one gulp. "She's going to give you a VIP tour of ARGUS. And after that, there's a surprise waiting for you."

William's head snapped up. "Really?"

"Yep." said Felicity. "It was your dad's idea. He wrote in a letter that just because he can't be there to celebrate his son's birthday, doesn't mean he still can't give the best birthday celebration to his boy."

"I wish he was here though." William twisted his knife a little.

"Me too, buddy." Felicity added on. "Me too."

The two ate breakfast for some time before there was a knocking at the door. Raisa opened the door and Lyla came in with Diggle.

"There's the birthday boy." Lyla came to William's side and hugged him, causing Felicity to laugh a little. For a woman so fierce, passionate and badass as Lyla Diggle, it was easy to forget that she loved kids, considering that she had a child of her own. "You ready to go?"

"You bet." said William excitedly. "This is gonna be so cool!"

John chuckled, happy that William was getting back to his full spirits. "I promise you William, this'll be a field trip you won't forget."

"Wait." Raisa handed Felicity her purse. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She pointed to the bathroom near the coat closet.

William rolled his eyes. "Raisa, I don't need to go."

"It is an hour drive." Lyla warned. "Sure you don't need to do something?"

"I'm perfectly fine." said William, bouncing a little. "Can we please go? I really wanna see the cool gadgets."

Lyla rolled her eyes, smiling at the boy's antics. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

The drive was long, but every moment was spent making sure the boy was happy. Occasionally the mention of Oliver came up and the car was silent, unsure of what to say. They knew William was a tough kid, but the last thing they wanted was for him was to be upset on his birthday. Luckily, Felicity as always, had a certain charm that made the situation more lighter. So she took it upon herself to make sure that the boy felt loved.

After about an hour of driving, they pulled up to ARGUS headquarters. It was a good thing that they had an underground garage because the last thing that John wanted for Felicity and William was to be spotted by some random stranger who recognized them from the media.

"Is this the part where you say, 'Welcome to ARGUS?' " William asked rhetorically.

"Hey William." Lyla chastised lightly. "We're just getting started.

They boarded a glass elevator and it shot up a few floors. It was going fast for William to take everything in, but he saw agents walking by, a large tank being rolled, and a cage containing what looked like a half man half shark creature. A few more seconds passed by before the elevator came to a sudden halt in the middle of the building.

"Which floor is this?" William asked immediately.

"This is Lyla's office." said Felicity. "She's the director of this whole super secret agent business."

"It's more than just that." Lyla shot Felicity a look. "ARGUS or Advanced Research Group of United Support is a special ops agency, dedicated to stopping crime on a global scale. Most of our agents are veterans, ex CIA or anyone who can nail a target. Our position in the government is top secret, so bottom line," She looked at William straight in the eyes. "What you are seeing isn't real." She winked at him.

"Mrs. Diggle," said William. "I don't even know where I am." He winked back at her.

"That's more like it." Lyla ushered them to a workspace surrounded by computers and a photo of her husband and son.

"William, would you mind staying in here for a few minutes?" Lyla pulled out a folder. "There's something I gotta talk about with them."

"Sure." said William. "One question though; where's the bathroom?"

Felicity gave an exasperated sigh. "Didn't we tell you to go before we left?"

"It's alright, Felicity." said John, leading William outside. "It's down the hall to the right."

"Thanks." While he made his way to the restroom, he wanted to hear what the adults were talking about. But at the moment, he had a choice between satisfying his curiosity and answering the call of nature. To be safe, he picked the more important option.

* * *

After a few minutes of sweet relief, William left the stall to wash his hands. But as he rinsed the soap from his hands, he started to feel very strange-like he was made of air, weightless and completely loose.

 _Maybe I drank too much milk._ He observed. It was true, too much calcium could make a person feel lightheaded. When he turned to shut off the water, an icy chill started creeping up his spine. As soon as he felt the immense cold, he shut his eyes and contracted his muscles, hoping to fight it.

He was about to open his eyes when he found himself falling through the floor as if it was suddenly removed from existence.

He crashed onto a shelf and then fell onto the floor. Gritting his teeth in response to the sore feeling that had settled on his back, he checked his head to see if there were bumps or it was bleeding (which fortunately didn't happen in either case). As to where he was, he appeared to be in some sort of supply closet.

 _Ok, something's not right here._ William thought to himself.  _One minute I'm in the bathroom and the next I'm in this closet with no idea how I fell down here. Maybe the floor was fake? Like those simulation rooms that they do in the movies?_

He tapped the walls as a test and they turned out to be solid concrete.

_Either this someone's dumb idea of a prank or somehow, my molecules actually phased through solid matter. Was that possible?_

The answer came to William when he looked up and gasped at his favorite jacket that was hanging midway through the ceiling. One of the sleeves was dangling over the shelf where the boy first landed.

"Holy shit." He whispered, starting to feel agitated at what was happening. But when he did, pins and needles started jabbing all over his body. He looked at his arms and almost screamed at what he saw: His hands were transparent and were covered by an eerie pale mist, losing their flesh-like quality with each passing second. In fact, his whole body looked ghost-like and before William could try to understand what was going on, he disappeared completely.

"What's happening to me?"

It was absurd, crazy, and mind boggling insanity. What kind of young boy would even think of becoming a vigilante in America's number 2 crime ridden city? (Number one being Gotham of course)

William Clayton, that's who. Despite a few housing changes, he still had his mind on the mission.

Thanks to the power of the media and a few nosy conspiracy theorists/reporters, William and Felicity's faces were known to the public. So ever since Oliver was arrested, Felicity had been stalked, blackmailed, and even sent death threats from people who still hated the Green Arrow. But it was William who took brutal harassment from kids his own age. He practically had a "Kick Me" sign glued to his back, when he started going to Star City Middle as the new kid who happened to be the Mayor's illegitimate son. But when Oliver gave up his secret identity as the Green Arrow, it was open season on the boy. William had tried his best to go to school, but he had been beaten up by other kids whose parents were criminals Oliver had stopped. A few teachers were failing him on purpose, his locker had the word, "Murderer" spray painted on in red. Nobody treated him kindly at all and the ones who wanted to were too scared to do so.

In one incident, he was ganged up by a bunch of boys who stole his backpack that had his phone in it and locked him in the janitors closet and left him there. He was stuck in there for a short amount of time before mixing some of the cleaning chemicals to cause a small explosion in the lock.

When word of the incident reached Felicity's ears, she decided that it was the last straw. So she pulled him out of the school and switched him to homeschooling when they had to move out of their apartment into an ARGUS safehouse just a little in the countryside. The safehouse wasn't too far from a small town but not too close to it either.

But living away from Star City would not stop William from preparing for his mission, even if law enforcement already was on the job.

Since last month, both ARGUS and the FBI have been looking for Ricardo Diaz, but so far had never been able to find a single trace of him. It was no surprise, since he was like a shadow, unseen and untouchable. So in order to beat the shadow, William had to become one himself.

So for weeks, he had scoured the Internet, finding the best information on martial arts, how to build muscle, weapons and even the basics of espionage. He had taught himself some basic self defense moves from finding courses on YouTube. He even created a digital crime board of Ricardo Diaz and his activity that was protected by a series of firewalls and a passcode (courtesy of an unsuspecting Felicity who thought she was protecting her step-son's computer from being hacked by nasty stalkers of the Green Arrow.)

The problem was, the World Wide Web wasn't enough to prepare him to fight crime. That's why first he needed to train with somebody who knew how to fight. He had asked his Uncle Diggle for a few lessons yesterday, but he said he would think about it considering his busy schedule regarding finding Diaz. Of course he adored William, but now was probably not a good time.

So William found himself in quite a predicament: Sure he could always say he wanted a way to blow off some steam after what he had been through but who would give him the training he needed without putting two and two together? There was no way anyone would let a kid go out onto the field, let alone William if he just told them he wanted to be a crimefighter-he was pretty sure he would literally be under house arrest if he told them.

Superhero business was a lot harder than it looked.

All of the complications of his mission kept William awake one night as he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. His throat became sandpaper and he looked at his clock and saw that the time was 1:30 am and the date read June 15-his 13th birthday.

He smiled, happy that he was finally a teenager. But at the same time, his dry throat was getting to him, so he crept out of the bed, went down stairs into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. While he was filling it with water, he started to feel a little lightheaded. At first he thought he must have been tired but when both of his hands started to fall asleep William put down the glass and started washing his hands. It was strange; he had never heard of his hands falling asleep.

 _Maybe I'm just super tired._ said William. Grabbing his glass of water, he carried it upstairs, the strange feeling in his hands fading away.

* * *

**8 hours later**

"William?" He hear Raisa's voice near him. "Wakey wakey birthday boy." He groaned similarly to a cow, not wanting to get up from his nice cozy bed. "Look at you, already grumpy." He groaned again. "Well, that won't stand. It's your birthday and you're going to celebrate it." William still wouldn't budge but Raisa wouldn't give up that easily.

"Felicity!" She called out. "The Bucket is needed!"

"Coming up!" Felicity replied, fishing ice cubs out of the freezer and filling a glass of water.

Despite hearing all of what was going on, William wouldn't move. He was too tired to move. Then again, that's what happens when a teenager stays up late, plotting on how to become a crimefighter.

"This is your last chance." Raisa waved the glass of icy cold water in her hand once Felicity gave it to her.

"Don't care." William grumbled from inside his covers.

"Aww." Felicity cooed. "They grow up so fast!" Then her demeanor changed from joyful to serious. "I don't like it."

Nodding at Raisa, the glass was poured onto William's face, some of the ice reaching his neck. As soon as the first drop of water reached his skin, he gave a shrill scream and literally fell out of bed. Scrambling from the covers tangling his limbs, he got up to find both women giggling at the sight of him.

"Not. Funny." He muttered.

"It wasn't supposed to be." Felicity remarked. "Now come on, I got Raisa to make a breakfast special for you and then after that, you're getting dressed."

"Fine." William muttered, rubbing a hand through his bed-ridden hair. "I'll be out in a second."

After a short while, William came out in today's attire: His favorite red and white letter jacket over a blue plaid shirt, coupled with jeans and sneakers. His disheveled hair was combed nicely and he looked more awake than when he got out of bed. Yet Felicity couldn't help but notice he was slowly getting taller than her.

"You alright Will?" She asked.

"Yeah?" William sat down ate some of his blueberry pancakes (because it was his birthday, he had a lot of whipped cream on them).

"Cause you look a bit pale." Felicity put her hand to William's forehead. "Are you feeling ok? You're not warm but you are a bit cold."

"Yeah." said William. "I'm fine. Just a little chilly."

"I warned you against having the AC on all night." Raisa lightly scolded. "But not to worry, Miss Lyla is coming over to pick you up soon. I suggest you eat quickly."

"Why is Aunt Lyla coming over?" William questioned his step-mother.

"Because," Felicity sat down, drinking her coffee down in one gulp. "She's going to give you a VIP tour of ARGUS. And after that, there's a surprise waiting for you."

William's head snapped up. "Really?"

"Yep." said Felicity. "It was your dad's idea. He wrote in a letter that just because he can't be there to celebrate his son's birthday, doesn't mean he still can't give the best birthday celebration to his boy."

"I wish he was here though." William twisted his knife a little.

"Me too, buddy." Felicity added on. "Me too."

The two ate breakfast for some time before there was a knocking at the door. Raisa opened the door and Lyla came in with Diggle.

"There's the birthday boy." Lyla came to William's side and hugged him, causing Felicity to laugh a little. For a woman so fierce, passionate and badass as Lyla Diggle, it was easy to forget that she loved kids, considering that she had a child of her own. "You ready to go?"

"You bet." said William excitedly. "This is gonna be so cool!"

John chuckled, happy that William was getting back to his full spirits. "I promise you William, this'll be a field trip you won't forget."

"Wait." Raisa handed Felicity her purse. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She pointed to the bathroom near the coat closet.

William rolled his eyes. "Raisa, I don't need to go."

"It is an hour drive." Lyla warned. "Sure you don't need to do something?"

"I'm perfectly fine." said William, bouncing a little. "Can we please go? I really wanna see the cool gadgets."

Lyla rolled her eyes, smiling at the boy's antics. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

The drive was long, but every moment was spent making sure the boy was happy. Occasionally the mention of Oliver came up and the car was silent, unsure of what to say. They knew William was a tough kid, but the last thing they wanted was for him was to be upset on his birthday. Luckily, Felicity as always, had a certain charm that made the situation more lighter. So she took it upon herself to make sure that the boy felt loved.

After about an hour of driving, they pulled up to ARGUS headquarters. It was a good thing that they had an underground garage because the last thing that John wanted for Felicity and William was to be spotted by some random stranger who recognized them from the media.

"Is this the part where you say, 'Welcome to ARGUS?' " William asked rhetorically.

"Hey William." Lyla chastised lightly. "We're just getting started.

They boarded a glass elevator and it shot up a few floors. It was going fast for William to take everything in, but he saw agents walking by, a large tank being rolled, and a cage containing what looked like a half man half shark creature. A few more seconds passed by before the elevator came to a sudden halt in the middle of the building.

"Which floor is this?" William asked immediately.

"This is Lyla's office." said Felicity. "She's the director of this whole super secret agent business."

"It's more than just that." Lyla shot Felicity a look. "ARGUS or Advanced Research Group of United Support is a special ops agency, dedicated to stopping crime on a global scale. Most of our agents are veterans, ex CIA or anyone who can nail a target. Our position in the government is top secret, so bottom line," She looked at William straight in the eyes. "What you are seeing isn't real." She winked at him.

"Mrs. Diggle," said William. "I don't even know where I am." He winked back at her.

"That's more like it." Lyla ushered them to a workspace surrounded by computers and a photo of her husband and son.

"William, would you mind staying in here for a few minutes?" Lyla pulled out a folder. "There's something I gotta talk about with them."

"Sure." said William. "One question though; where's the bathroom?"

Felicity gave an exasperated sigh. "Didn't we tell you to go before we left?"

"It's alright, Felicity." said John, leading William outside. "It's down the hall to the right."

"Thanks." While he made his way to the restroom, he wanted to hear what the adults were talking about. But at the moment, he had a choice between satisfying his curiosity and answering the call of nature. To be safe, he picked the more important option.

* * *

After a few minutes of sweet relief, William left the stall to wash his hands. But as he rinsed the soap from his hands, he started to feel very strange-like he was made of air, weightless and completely loose.

 _Maybe I drank too much milk._ He observed. It was true, too much calcium could make a person feel lightheaded. When he turned to shut off the water, an icy chill started creeping up his spine. As soon as he felt the immense cold, he shut his eyes and contracted his muscles, hoping to fight it.

He was about to open his eyes when he found himself falling through the floor as if it was suddenly removed from existence.

He crashed onto a shelf and then fell onto the floor. Gritting his teeth in response to the sore feeling that had settled on his back, he checked his head to see if there were bumps or it was bleeding (which fortunately didn't happen in either case). As to where he was, he appeared to be in some sort of supply closet.

 _Ok, something's not right here._ William thought to himself.  _One minute I'm in the bathroom and the next I'm in this closet with no idea how I fell down here. Maybe the floor was fake? Like those simulation rooms that they do in the movies?_

He tapped the walls as a test and they turned out to be solid concrete.

_Either this someone's dumb idea of a prank or somehow, my molecules actually phased through solid matter. Was that possible?_

The answer came to William when he looked up and gasped at his favorite jacket that was hanging midway through the ceiling. One of the sleeves was dangling over the shelf where the boy first landed.

"Holy shit." He whispered, starting to feel agitated at what was happening. But when he did, pins and needles started jabbing all over his body. He looked at his arms and almost screamed at what he saw: His hands were transparent and were covered by an eerie pale mist, losing their flesh-like quality with each passing second. In fact, his whole body looked ghost-like and before William could try to understand what was going on, he disappeared completely.

"What's happening to me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a birthday surprise for William!


	4. Take Your Birthday Child to Work Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold on, we can't have a proper meal without breaking bread. In some countries such as Portugal, having bread before having a meal is a way to affirm trust amongst the dinner table. It also has carbohydrates that leave you wanting more ;)
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

_When I said I wanted to be invisible, I meant it for school and not literally!_ Even though he was literally unseen, William was pretty sure he was red in the face from total embarrassment.

He was also completely and utterly confused. Part of him was hoping this was some sort of dream but the cold wave of reality would hit him every time he would think so. Another part of him was his curiosity in overdrive-how was it that he had these powers? And why was it they showed up on his birthday?

Was this some sort of genetic thing? Like the X-Men? Or was this some part of puberty some kids got (also like the X-Men)?

If so, William was feeling a little bit proud of himself; some guys had to shave, while he got superpowers. Or in this case, ghost powers, like Danny Phantom (which in William's opinion was one of the best shows ever).

But suddenly, he started to panic, what if he had actually become a ghost and would never be seen again? Never able to give his step-mother a hug again?

 _Wait, how the fuck am I gonna explain this?_ William had no idea what to do at that point. He could call Felicity or Diggle, but he couldn't just say, "Hey guys, come help me, I'm a ghost for no apparent reason." And then he had an idea, The Flash. Maybe he could help him. The problem was, he didn't exactly have his phone number.

It was at that point, William decided he didn't need to ask for help. These were his powers, which meant it was his problem. You want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

So he closed his eyes, and concentrated, breathing in and breathing out in slow takes. It seemed like forever but the tingling feeling returned and William jumped a little from the sudden feeling. He looked at his hands to find them transparent, but at the very least he could see a faint outline of his creamy skin.

So he concentrated more and the tingling spread all over his body, like crawling ants. The more he relaxed, the more visible he became, until he looked less like a spirit and more like a living person.

He opened his eyes and blew out a huge breath of air. "Thank you, thank you."

But when he tried to take a step forward, he felt a chill creep up his right leg and it sunk into the floor.

"You gotta be kidding me." William muttered irritably. When he tried to lift himself up by using his left leg as support, his left leg also sunk into the floor, leaving William halfway sunken in the floor. When he tried to wiggle out of the floor, he only sunk deeper. It was like being stuck in quicksand, the more he struggled, the further he sunk until he was left with only his upper chest and his arms.

William pinched his nose, breathing out a hot steam of air.  _This just got a lot harder._

Using all of his strength, he pulled himself up with only his arms, bringing his legs up with him. "Come on, William. Come on." Bringing his knees up to his chin, William finally pulled his toes out of the floor and set them down on a solid floor.

William gingerly touched his legs, then his arms, then his hands, just to make sure they were solid flesh. He smiled a little but then he realized, Lyla would probably be looking for him by then. So he had to get back up a floor to the bathroom. But how?

 _If I'm have ghost powers, maybe I can fly!_ He bent his knees and then jumped up, only for gravity to pull him back down.  _Maybe I'm not doing it right_. He jumped a few more times, and a couple of attempts actually resulted in him landing on his ass and on his back.

"Ow." He groaned, clutching his hip. Obviously, this was safer in his head. When he surveyed the room to try to find another way, he saw the metal shelf he had crashed into was still intact. That would certainly work.

So he climbed up the shelf and it was only when he got to the top that he realized he didn't know how to activate his powers.

"Ok, think William, think." He even knocked on his skull for emphasis. He shut his eyes trying to concentrate but he never felt that familiar chill go up his spine.

 _No fair Kitty Pryde and Danny Phantom, for making this look easy!_ He tried to peer into his mind, trying to find some sort of "on" switch for his intangibility. But it wasn't working, so he had to find another way and fast.

So he pondered for a couple of minutes before it hit him: William had ghost powers; if he was gonna use them, he had to  **think** like a ghost.

That was easy enough. Ghosts were see-through, spirits of the past and they were practically light as a feather.

If there was a light bulb floating over William's head, it would have blinked very brightly at that moment. He knew what he had to do.

"Think light." He whispered to himself. "Think light. Think light." Suddenly the icy chill went up his spine and and he jumped up into the bathroom. Of course his foot was stuck for a bit but William fixed that already.

* * *

"William!" Once he made his way back to Lyla's office, he was immediately crushed by the arms and worry of one Felicity Smoak. "Where have you been?! You had me worried sick! You're not hurt, are you?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." He said calmly to his stepmother. "Look at me, I'm fine."

"I went to check for you in the bathroom." said Felicity. "Well technically, John went cause I'm a woman and obviously it would be completely inappropriate but I was too worried so I kept asking him every 2 seconds if you found him and-"

"Felicity, please." William shut her up. "You're doing the thing again."

"Right excuse my babbling." Felicity brushed her jacket. "Where have you been?"

"I-"  _No William._ His conscience interrupted him mid-speech.  _What are you doing? If you tell her you have ghost powers, she'll get worried and that'll compromise the mission. Remember, Dad needs you._ "I got distracted by something. I kind of wandered."

"Next time, don't wander." said Felicity. "Now come on, we're about to start the tour."

They went inside Lyla's office to find her discussing something with John. From the way the scene looked, they had just finished their talk so there wasn't much to draw from to figure out the subject of the conversation.

"Sorry about that." said Lyla. "I have to attend a briefing so it's John who's gonna be taking you on the tour. Felicity, could you help me with something on the database?"

"Sure." said Felicity. "I'm sure William is in good hands."

"You ready little man?" John asked.

William rolled his eyes. "I'm not that little."

John chuckled while Lyla shook her head. "I'm already afraid of the day my boy becomes William's age."

* * *

Once Lyla and Felicity left, the first place the boys stopped by, was the elevator.

"Pick a floor, any floor." John gestured to the control panel. In nonchalance, William pressed number 15 (there were 40 floors in the building). After a few stops with ARGUS agents coming and going, they reached their destination.

"You've picked a good place to start." John announced. "This is the Hall of Weapons and no, I did not just make up the name."

"I wasn't gonna ask that." Left and right to William were doors covering rooms of tasers, swords, AK-47's, 22 Calibers, nunchucks, bows, arrows, and any kind of weapons one could imagine.

"I already imagine you're tired of hearing this." John looked at William closely. "But don't, touch,  **anything**. Lyla will have my head on a pike if another incident happens."

"What incident?" William asked curiously.

"One time one of our agents brought in their wild child." John explained. "Thought he could straighten her out, but he lets her touch one laser and it's chaos everywhere." He didn't show the physical pain of reminding himself of that day. "Bad for business."

William immediately "Ok, no touchie."

"Exactly." said John, walking him down. "We have technological weapons, traditional weapons. Most of our agents use ballistics since they served in the army. But we like to keep our eyes open for what's out there. There are still 10 bows for your dad, in case he ever needed them. Back when he used to work for Amanda Waller."

"Who's Amanda Waller?" William asked once they stopped in front of an archery room, which coincidentally happened to have green lighting inside.

"A ruthless woman who used to run ARGUS, who might have been Agent Watson's cousin." Diggle explained meticulously.

"That sounds like the most terrifying thing next to Adrian Chase." William breathed out.

"Yep." John replied. "Since we're at this room, do you want to go inside?"

William nodded and John took out his key card, swiping it on the panel and placing it in his front pocket. With a hiss, the door slid open and the young teenage was startstruck by the amount of Green Arrow weapons displayed in front of his eyes. His father's Arrowcave (it always irked his father to no end when he called his dad's hideout that) was stocked up with every kind of weapon there was, but here, there were arrows, arrows, arrows. It was like a candy stash for an archery nut-(aka his dad)

"Not bad for the first stop eh?" John asked.

"This is awesome!" He was tempted to pick up a bow and arrow imitate his father using his catchphrase: "You have failed this city."

"There's more Team Arrow memorabilia in the next room if you wanna see it." said John. "This is for your dad in case he decides to stop by ARGUS again."

John led the teenager out into the next room. It turned out that John's keycard could open any door as long as the person held it on their person. If they didn't they couldn't get in or out.

"Here we are." The door opened with another hiss and what William saw was almost a museum collection of Team Arrow members past and present. Suits were neatly displayed in bulletproof glass cases, weapons were arranged by a neat and precise order. There were even copies of suits, masks and everything.

"I talked to Felicity about your dad's suit." said John. "She said she wanted to keep it here for safekeeping. In case Diaz somehow finds her and manage to blow up the house."

"That's pretty smart." William commented.

"Your step-mother is badass, smart woman." said John. "But when you're done looking around, are you ready to see the real badass stuff?"

After a few minutes of looking around and taking as much detail as he could possibly absorb, William nodded at John.

* * *

Around the building John took him to designated spots specifically suited for William. Places like where the prisoners were being held or briefing rooms were off limits. John stuck with him at all times, even when he had to use the bathroom. They saw armories (where they had bulletproof vests in every size you could imagine), communication rooms, gyms, medical centers, everything that made ARGUS headquarters seem like the spy museum to end all spy museums.

At one point, William pointed to the blinking devices in the corner facing the ceiling and asked, "What are those for?"

"Metahuman power dampeners." John explained. "Those are in case some intruder with powers decide to come looking for trouble. They're in the hallways, rooms, anything with important stuff."

* * *

At the mention of metahumans, William began to ponder on his own abilities. Was he a metahuman? But at that point, he decided that he didn't have time to question his sudden newfound powers. This was more reason to pursue his mission. If any of Team Arrow found out he had powers, they would be freaked out and lose their sights on at least finding some trace of Ricardo Diaz.

Still, part of William felt lonely in isolating himself from his family. They knew the Flash, so at the very least William would have someone to talk to about his sudden developments.

 _No_. He told himself.  _You can't let yourself be distracted by a lack of friends. The mission comes first. The city comes first. Dad comes first._

He then decided to be like one of his idols, the Flash. He had powers and used them to help people. In William's case, he could use his abilities so Ricardo Diaz literally wouldn't see him coming.

* * *

Whilst on the tour, they walked around some more, and William was having the time of his life, and learning so much. It was only when they got to the computer systems (where Felicity was fixing a glitch) that Diggle had to literally restrain William from touching the high tech tablets. The only other person he had ever seen this excited about technology was Cisco Ramon. (Although Felicity would have to her step-son meet the inventor sometime).

It seemed like the tour would never end, but it did, when they got to the 20th floor, back to where they started. But when William asked John for any food, the man led the boy into a small kitchen where he opened a secret compartment in the fridge. Inside, lay about a dozen sodas ranging from Fanta to Diet Pepsi.

"I know Agent Daniels loves his secret soda stash, plus he's happy to share them with anyone's kids." said John. "Lyla doesn't want anything too messy in this building so, best not to say anything."

"About what?" William gave a small wink at John.

"Oh, you're good." Diggle chuckled. "Come on, you can take one and then Felicity's got a surprise for you."

* * *

When William entered the empty conference room, he found a TV in front of the table. In front of the seat facing him, was a black shiny remote, placed next to a note that said, "TURN THE TV ON".

William did as the note instructed, putting his Diet Coke and the TV flickered on, showing Oliver Queen's face. It was the last thing William expected to see but he saw grey concrete walls behind him and William braced himself, for whatever bad news his father would give.

"Hello William." Oliver spoke through the screen. "If you're seeing this, that means it's your birthday and I'm really, really sorry I couldn't be there for you." William cast his eyes down to the floor. "But I can say that I could not be more proud to hear of you growing up into your teen years. You have grown so much in just a year and I'm still so proud of you I could just go on for hours about how proud I am of you." William smiled a bit. "Just a few things to remember; French Fries are not breakfast please keep your room clean, and don't use your electronics in the dark." At the French Fries bit, William rolled his eyes. "But more importantly, never,  **ever** forget how much your family loves you. So whatever you do, whatever you say, we have always got your back. Especially me, William. You are the greatest part of me and I'm always with you here." Oliver pointed to his heart. "Happy Birthday, son. I love you."

The recording shut off and just when William was about to get up, he was comforted by Felicity Smoak.

"Are you ok?" She asked him comfortingly.

"Yeah." William nodded.

Felicity hugged him tightly. "Oh, you are so strong. I am so proud of you for being so brave with this." She looked at her step-son with great admiration, amazed at someone so young and so sweet being so tough when he had just spent a month with his father being in prison.

"I'm guessing that was the surprise I was told about?" William guessed.

Felicity smiled. "Oh don't worry. That was just part one of the surprise." As if he was listening, John Diggle came in and sat down next to William. "William, John and I have talked about this and…" She looked at her friend, hoping for him to finish.

"I'm gonna teach you how to fight." John finished for her.

William's azure eyes widened to the size of bowling balls and his eyebrows had already reached the ceiling.

"Uh, come again?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this was the surprise Felicity was talking about! The details of Diggle training William will be revealed in the next chapter so hold onto your hats! Oh and speaking of the next chapter (insert evil laugh) there's a reason why I briefly mentioned the metahuman dampeners and John Diggle's key card. A VERY good reason.


	5. Making Tough Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that bread has been served, it's time to spread some butter on it!
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

"You heard me." said John. "I'll be training. But we're gonna be starting at the basics so it'll be a little while before you can actually kick ass."

"I still don't want you getting ideas." Felicity piped up. "Because let me remind you William, this is a self defense class, not an ass kicking class."

"I only asked for this so I could blow off some steam." William raised his hands cooly.

"Which is understandable." said John. "So William, lessons will take place every Monday and Thursday at 5 pm and they will last for an hour and a half. If I can't be there to teach you, Dinah will take over. If she can't come, either an ARGUS agent will show up or you'll be assigned more homework."

William threw his head back a little and let out a groan. "I'm being homeschooled and I  **still** get homework?" William asked rhetorically.

"Yep." Felicity retorted. "But remember what I said, this is for protecting yourself in case you're alone. If I hear  **any** report of you going out to fight bad guys, these lessons and your Netflix account will be the first to go."

"Felicity." John placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think he gets it. But William," he turned his attention back to the boy. "I want to be sure you're up for this. Because this will be one of the hardest things you've ever done. Learning martial arts is not how it's done in the movies. This will drain you mentally and physically but if you practice and work hard, it'll be worth it. Are you prepared to take this challenge?"

A few moments of silence trickled by before William stuck out his fist and said,

"Bring it, Sensei."

* * *

After John and Felicity left to discuss something, William was left on his own in the conference room, to recollect himself from the excitement. Now that he had training checked off on his DIY Superhero List, it was only a matter of time before he would be ready to fight Ricardo Diaz.

The other things on his list included, a voice modulator, concealer for his bruises, weapons, a method of transportation, a kickass name, a mapped out pattern of Diaz's activity, and a suit.

Wait, a suit! William cursed at himself for disregarding one of the most essential parts of being a vigilante: Making himself as enigmatic as possible or as it was summed up in just a few little words; a secret identity.

The question was, where was he going to find something to wear that would make himself unrecognizable and able to fight in? He could always try the local costume store in the town near the safehouse where he was living in, but their idea of protective padding was an armory of plastic vests.

 _This could be a lot harder than I thought._ William thought to himself.

No one said that being a vigilante was going to be easy, but trying to do it by yourself? He had heard stories of his father starting out on his own and William still didn't have a clue how he did it. But William was smart. Really smart for someone of his age so he could find a way to make this work.

So while he was sitting in his chair, drumming his fingers on the wooden table, and gulping down his soda, William was trying to think of ways to get a suit that would protect him from some bodily harm, and would allow him to fight without any complications.

William was thankful that he had a photographic memory, because just then, images of Team Arrow's suits flashed in his mind. But they were all adults, way taller and had more muscle that him (as much as William hated to admit it) so there was nothing in there that wouldn't fit him.

Almost nothing.

He had taken a brief look at the suit that belonged to the Black Canary before Dinah Drake, but he had observed it long enough to know that aside from the long sleeves, the black leather jacket, weapons belt, black synthetic gloves, and domino mask were a perfect fit for the young teen. To make it even more convenient, there was a long black bo staff that according to Diggle, could be shortened enough to carry in his pocket and elongated whenever he pushed a button on it.

But the more he thought about this, the more he began to acknowledge the terrible truth: No one in their right mind would give a teenager a suit and weapons without getting suspicious of his motives. The only real way to get inside the building and access the rooms William needed to get to, was if he had a key card. Specifically, John Diggle's key card. It was the last thing he wanted to do and he certainly wasn't raised this way, but to him, he didn't have a choice. If William wanted to have that suit, the only way to get it, was to steal it. How would he do that?

By breaking into ARGUS himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the words of one Felicity Megan Smoak, “BOOM! Drop the mic!”


	6. Birthday Bash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me a bit of time to get back, but battling senioritis is not as easy as it looks.
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

On the drive back to the safehouse, a billion thoughts were racing in William's mind. How would he do this? How would he break into a top secret government agency, get inside the room on the 15th floor and get out without being detected? He didn't even know if he could actually pull this off. But at least two things were certain: If he went through with this, and got caught, he could at minimum, face time in Juvie. But if he did it and escaped with what he needed, he would be the last person anyone would suspect.

Breaking into ARGUS HQ was completely out of character for him-and that was why William was the perfect candidate for this heist. Aside from being sweet, nerdy, and emotionally dependent William Clayton, who would think that a 13 year old kid would have the gumption to even start planning something like this? As long as he kept his mouth shut, William might get away with it.

A robbery as big as this would be quite difficult to plan, since he was pretty sure no one had ever broken into ARGUS and walked away without getting caught.

That's why William would have to make a lot of laser-focused preparations. Just to get to inside, he would have to study ARGUS' security system and schematics. But getting out, would take even more planning. Taking the stuff, would probably be the most difficult part of this operation.

So he had to make a plan that would cover everything down to the last detail; he literally couldn't afford to overlook anything. He had lots of research to do.

But at least he knew exactly where to begin: Making sure he had complete access to any and all rooms of ARGUS headquarters. And it was a good thing that John Diggle was practically a giant teddy bear around kids.

* * *

By the time Felicity and William were dropped off, it was almost dinnertime. The house was big enough to fit a family of four, but it was enough for the pseudo-family of three (including Raisa).

"Thank you so much for this." said Felicity.

"It's no problem." said John. "Happy Birthday William. Come here." He then embraced the young teen in his enormous arms. "I'm sorry I can't stay. ARGUS missions literally pop up out of nowhere."

"Ricardo Diaz?" William guessed.

"Yeah." said John. "But don't worry, son. We'll find him, and we'll make sure he never hurts Star City ever again."

"I know you will." said Felicity. "Come on, William. I'm sure there's a cake waiting for you."

"Chocolate?" William asked hopefully.

"Maybe." Felicity winked at him. "Come on."

Giving one more thanks for the tour, William went inside, his fingers tracing something long and plastic in his pockets. When he turned on the lights, he found Felicity and her mother along with Raisa, and Zoe who began to sing Happy Birthday to the young teen.

William, being a teenager already, buried his face in his hands to avoid the ladies seeing the strawberry red blush that had formed on his cheeks.

 _I'm too old for this_ , he wanted to tell them. But he was too polite to do so.

Begrudgingly, he sat down in the "seat of honor" as Raisa laid down his birthday cake. It was chocolate on the outside alright, but it was actually a mint-chocolate chip ice cream cake with chocolate frosting covering most of it and decorating it, were words written in blue icing spelling, HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIAM! A large candle carved in the number 13, was placed on top of the cake.

"Guys, come on!" William blurted out, still blushing madly.

"Come on, make a wish!" Zoe chided him gently. Rolling his cobalt eyes, the young teen blew out the candle and the girls clapped loudly for him.

"Happy Birthday, William." Raisa smiled at him. "You deserve to be happy on this special day-when you've finally become a teenager."

"So what did you wish for?" Donna Smoak asked gleefully.

"Nope, not gonna tell you." said William.

"Pretty please?" Donna batted her eyes at her step-son.

"Nope." William replied firmly. "Not gonna tell you. But why are we stalling on my birthday? Let's dig in."

* * *

Half an hour passed and the small party was in full swing. Everyone wanted a chance to talk to William about how he felt about being a teenager. The conversations went well, especially both when Raisa and Donna shared separate but equally embarrassing stories of when Oliver, Thea, and Felicity were his age, all of which were hilarious (at one point, Zoe was laughing so hard, she clamped down on William's shoulder a little too hard). At one point, there was a video message from his Aunt Thea and his Uncle Roy, wishing him a happy birthday, but of course Roy made the comment of how the little shrimp was getting to be a big shrimp (His nickname for William was Shrimpy, which irritated the teen to absolutely no end).

Unfortunately, at the same time as the party, there was a drug bust going on in Star City, forcing John, Dinah, Curtis, Rene and Lyla to stay behind in Star City. This time, Curtis stayed behind the computers, insisting that Felicity spent time with her step-son since he felt the young man needed it especially at this time.

But for his sake, Curtis, Dinah and Rene sent a video wishing William a happy birthday. To absolutely no one's surprise, Rene had decided to make an unnecessarily sarcastic remark of how he wasn't ready to be around girls, mainly his daughter, whom William had gotten to know quite well when they were being "babysat" by ARGUS custody.

To put the whole scene in simple words, it was turning out very smoothly. In fact, William was having so much fun with his family, that he essentially forgot about the fact that John Diggle's keycard was sitting in his pocket.

That is, until he got down to talking with Zoe, without supervision from anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, William's got his dad's Don Juan genes, he just hasn't had much practice with it. Or any at all. But here's a question: What happens when you combine metahuman powers with an adolescent's emotions?


	7. Metahuman Powers and Teenage Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, I should order some RIBS, but I don't want to get aHEAD of myself
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

"Happy Birthday, William." Zoe walked towards the stairs. "You're so lucky, my birthday isn't until August."

"I'll be sure to come to your party." William replied. "If it's safe to come."

Zoe nodded as they made their way upstairs to William's room.

She would be a fool if she didn't understand the current situation that had fallen on the Smoak-Clayton family. Because of the intensity of the media's scrutiny of anyone who was related to Oliver Queen and the threat of Diaz still being out there, it was unsafe for both Felicity and William to be outdoors without supervision from anyone who had immunity from the FBI deal, mainly any agent from ARGUS. But it was even more unsafe for any civilian who knew them to stop by for a visit. It was even more unsafe for even sending letters between William or Felicity with anyone, because Diaz was still out there and he could intercept even the smallest note or text. For the time being as protection, they had to limit visitations to once every few months and use monitered, encrypted communication. Especially for Zoe and William, who had already become fast friends after their time spent together while their parents were fighting Diaz. Interestingly enough, instead of being enemies like their fathers, they clicked like magnets.

"What are we doing up here?" William asked once they entered his room.

"Shh." Zoe giggled, closing the door shut. "Here, I snuck in some extra goodies." She fished inside her backpack and showed to William, several bags of cheese puffs, doritos, M&M's, Reese's Cups, nacho chips, zebra cakes, popcorn, and of course, two cans of whipped cream for each.

As soon as William saw the unhealthy treats, his mouth was filled to the brim with drool. Never in his life had he been allowed within 3 feet of so much junk and sugary food, not for any of his birthdays, not for Halloween (his mother had put a curfew and a restriction for how much candy he could take), and not even for Easter or the Fourth of July.

"Is this?" William couldn't even finish because his entire focus had shifted on the pile of junk food near his lap.

"All you can eat." Zoe told him proudly.

William laughed, pulling Zoe in tightly for a hug. "You're an angel." Zoe blushed a little. "No seriously, you are an angel."

"Hush, birthday boy." Zoe lightly punched his arm. "Let's eat."

The children talked animatedly for almost an hour whilst gobbling down their feast. They were chatting away one subject to another, from baseball, to hockey (there was even a debate on which sport was the best) to their opinion on middle school, to movies. They were two peas in a pod, good friends already, but slowly working their way to becoming besties. And from the looks of things, they both could use a bestie.

Both William and Zoe were so enamoured in their conversation that they found themselves in quite a stormy debate, one that could change the very course of their friendship.

"Coco." Zoe flicked a cheese puff at William's head

"Lion King." William stuffed a Reese's Cup in his mouth.

"Coco." Zoe pressured.

"Lion King." William shot back at Zoe.

"I'm very sorry, but it is Coco." Zoe smiled.

"Lion King has good songs!" William argued.

"Yeah, but I'm Latina!" Zoe said. "Gotta show my pride."

"Coco is awesome but at the Lion King was part of my childhood, so there." said William.

"So is Coco!" Zoe argued. "In a way."

Just then, someone knocked on the door, interrupting their playful argument.

Thinking quickly, Zoe and William pushed the junk food under the covers and sat next to each other.

"Come in!" William said to the person on the other side of the door.

"The door opened and Raisa walked in.

"I was gonna tell Zoe that it's almost time to go but I would like to hear what is going on back here." She told them.

"We're just debating which movie is more family themed." said Zoe. "Which is Coco, by the way."

"The Lion King is based off Hamlet, a Shakesperan play, which is also about family, which came  **way** before Coco."

"I see." Raisa chuckled. "We have a quite a tie at the moment. But Zoe, your father just called, he's coming to pick you up." Just as Raisa left, she told them to keep the door open, and not ajar. Completely open.

But once they got back to their debate, one of the bags of popcorn fell to the floor and the two children reached their arms for it at the exact same time, allowing their hands to brush over each other.

They didn't move, except to lift their heads, so they could gaze at each other. Liquid warm brown eyes met cobalt blue and for a few seconds, they didn't move the slightest.

When Zoe looked into William's eyes, it was like she was seeing him for the first time. She never noticed how cute he was, especially with his long eyelashes over hs bright blue eyes. He was quite tall for his age, but he was a sweet boy. He was always willing to help her with her math and he was quite a gentleman.

The more William stared at Zoe, the more he realized just how pretty she was. She was kind, full of life, had the sweetest laugh. She was like a flower, innocent and beautiful, inside and out. She wasn't the first girl he had stared at but Zoe Ramirez was something else entirely.

Both of them moved away from each other the second they felt heat rise to their cheeks. If it was possible for smoke to actually pour out of one's ears, the smoke detectors would have overloaded right then.

But suddenly, a tingling feeling spread like tiny ants all over William's chest. He closed his eyes, too panicked to move, hoping that it was just the butterflies that were fluttering in his stomach.

He could not have been more wrong.

"Um." He scratched the back of his head. "Zoe, sorry about the bag, I know some of the popcorn fell and I'll just…"

"Don't worry about the popcorn." Zoe said before absolute horror took over her face. "William," She pointed a quivering finger at his chest. "You...you should look in the mirror. Your ribs are showing."

William raised an eyebrow at her. "So what if I'm skinny?"

"No, I'm serious." She pushed him towards the dresser where the mirror lay atop the wall. "Your ribs are literally showing." William spun around and screamed at what was in his reflection-his entire torso was invisible except for the bones from his rib cage to his collarbone.

"What was that?" Felicity called from downstairs as she made her way upstairs.

"Nothing!" William yelled back before running to the bathroom and locking the door.

* * *

_No, no, no, no, no!_

William scrubbed his face furiously with water, and his bones were still visible to the world. He was in a state of panic that was so powerful, he couldn't think straight. As a matter of fact, he couldn't think at all. Consumed by his erratic fear, he was deaf to what people were saying outside of the door.

When he discovered his abilities, William did not think to tell anyone, at least until he could figure out how he got them. But when they acted up like that, they made William feel, in some ways, exposed. It wasn't the fact that he had showed someone his powers that pierced his heart; It was the look on Zoe's face. She saw his powers work in one of the most disturbing ways imaginable. He had scared his friend for no reason at all, and felt ashamed of it.

He muttered profoundly foul language under his breath about the cruel turn of events that had transpired-Managing to frighten a poor girl to death on the same day he discovered what he could do. How fantastic this was turning out to be.

"Come on." William closed his eyes, trying to make the tingling feeling stop. "Come on, William! Come on!" No matter how hard he concentrated, the tingling spread all over his body like fire on wood, until he was quite literally out of sight.

"Agh!" He punched the wall in frustration. Why couldn't he do this? Why couldn't he flip the off switch of his invisibility? What was he going to do? What would he say to Zoe? Where was she anyway?

 _Probably on her way home by now._ William thought with bitterness in his heart.  _She deserves better than having a freak for a friend._

"William!" Zoe's voice echoed through the wooden door. "I've kept Felicity and the others downstairs for a while. But please, open the door."

"Go away." He bit back. He didn't mean to sound impolite but he didn't want to scare her anymore by having her speak to a disembodied voice. She'd probably think she was crazy.

"William, please." Zoe knocked on the door. "Look, I don't know what's happening with you and I'm not gonna pretend I understand what you're going through." She got only silence as a reply from him. "But I can tell what you must be feeling now. You're scared and you're probably confused." She was met with more silence. "I can't do, what you can do. But whenever I play a hockey game, especially the championships, I get nervous. I can't move from my seat and my palms are leaking faucets of sweat. But you know what? I realize sooner or later, that I've got a game to win. So I pull myself together and take a few breaths while closing my eyes, so I can't get scared by what I see." William smiled at this, amazed by the fact that the same girl he had scared 5 minutes ago, was trying to help him. So he let her.

"Let's do a couple, ok?" She couldn't see it of course, but William slowly nodded at the closed door. "In." She took in a breath and William did the same. "Out." She exhaled and William followed. "In. Out. In. Out."

With each slow and steady breath, William continued the exercise, his mind drifting away of the anxiety and insecurities that were starting to flood inside him. He wasn't sure of exactly how many times he had done this exercise but from his feet to his head, tiny invisible ants started dancing all over his body, until finally, he shimmered back into something the human eye could see.

He looked at himself in the mirror and blew out an immense breath of relief. He looked a the door and considered his options-He could either tell her that she was imagining things and that she was probably tired, or he could thank her for helping him. But if he went with Option 2, what would he say?

* * *

Zoe waited outside of the bathroom, tapping her foot against the floor to try to pass the time. She was worried for William, what if he wouldn't come out? What would she ask him? She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable about his powers. So she had to watch what she said, he had been scared enough.

"Zoe." Felicity came up to her. "Your dad's here."

"No, I can't go downstairs yet." said Zoe. "I need to talk to William."

"You sure he's ok?" Felicity asked worridly. "But I think you should go downstairs, your dad's waiting for you."

"Can I just wait a few minutes please?" She gave her best puppy eyes at the blonde hacker who after a few seconds, nodded at Zoe.

"Alright, but just a few minutes." She said, heading back downstairs just as William opened the door. He looked nervous but at least she could see him.

"Hey." They spoke in unison.

"Do you wanna…"

"Get out of there." Zoe took his arm and led him out. "I imagine you don't want to talk about this. At least let's go behind closed doors."

William nodded at her, closing the door once they were inside his room.

* * *

The both of them sat right next to each other and didn't say a word. They didn't know where to start. Zoe wanted to make William feel better again and William was afraid of what she would ask.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." They both said to each other at the exact same time. "What?"

"You go first." William nudged Zoe.

"No, William." She replied. "You go first."

"Ok." He fumbled with his hands a little. "I discovered my powers this morning. I was at a tour in ARGUS in the bathroom when I literally fell through the floor." Zoe looked at him with surprise. "I ended up crashing in some janitor's closet. That's when...the other thing happened. I don't know how my powers work and I never meant to freak you out like that. I am so sorry, Zoe."

"William." She finally said to him. "It's alright. I admit I freaked out a little, but I'm a tough girl. I'm sorry you went through that at ARGUS. But do you mind if I ask a question?" William nodded at her. "What do you mean by falling through the floor?"

"Do you want me to show you?" He asked her and got a nod in response. William looked around to find anything that would help his intangible demonstration. Finally, he picked up a pillow and concentrated on his intangibility. Sure enough, a chill shot through his arm and he stuck it through his pillow.

Zoe walked up to him, her eyes practically bursting out of her sockets.

"Wow." She breathed, poking at William's arm only to pass through it. "Honestly, William, I think that your powers are really cool."

The 13 year old's eyebrows raced to his hairline. "You, you think so?"

Zoe chuckled. "I  **know** so. I mean turning invisible and being able to phase through solid objects? If you can fly, then you're practically Danny Phantom!"

William laughed sheepishly and his cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, except for the part where I can't fly. Trust me, I checked."

"They're still cool." said Zoe. "But William, listen to what I have to say." He nodded at her. "While I think it's cool you have these powers, I think you should learn to control them."

"I can control them!" William exclaimed in an exasprated tone. Zoe crossed her arms and gave him a "Really?" look. "Ok fine, I sort of can't control them."

"And that's where your problem lies." said Zoe. "I don't wanna tell you what to do, but I think you should be very careful with how you use your powers. I understand a lot has happend today, but at least learn how they work, so another accident like this doesn't happen again."

"I got away with it." William retorted.

"This time, yes." said Zoe. "But the next time you show your insides like that to a paramedic,  **they** might be the one that ends up with a heart attack."

"Are you…" He asked in a timid voice. "Are you gonna tell anyone?"

Zoe shook her head. "No William. They're your powers, and it's your choice whether you want to tell anyone. But when you're ready, you should tell your dad or Felicity, just to talk to someone about this. You know we're not gonna be in much contact so it's pretty much up to you." There was a heavy pause before Zoe spoke up again, "I'll tell you what. If you learn to control your powers, I won't tell anyone about them."

William's eyes lit up at this proposition. "Really?"

Zoe smiled at him and held up her pinky. William raised his and they locked their pinkies together.

"Thank you." He said to her, just as Rene hollered up, "Baby girl, we gotta go!"

"Coming Daddy!" Zoe called back. She looked at William one more time and gave him a hug. "Good luck."

Willaim smiled at her as she left. His heart rate elevated when he realized she cared about him and was willing to keep his secret. He couldn't stop himself.

"You're awesome." He said just as Zoe opened the door. She turned around and was about to thank William, when she started giggling. "What?"

"Your um," She said between laughs. "Your head is gone."

William marched over to the mirror and saw that his head had actually dissapeared.

"Ugh! You've gotta be kidding me!"

Zoe laughed once more. "See you soon, Nearly-no, Totally Headless Will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, the friendship is sailing proudly!


	8. The Class Project

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll have some egg drop soup, please. It's warm, soothing and it's really delicious!

4 months flew by, and aside from his continuous growth spurt (which Zoe teased him about whenever she could) and the occasional unpleasant zit, the 13 year old had adapted quite well to his current situation. Despite being in the house during the day and outside during the night, William was never bored. In fact, his schedule, while constant, was always full of surprises. Every day, Monday through Friday, Felicity would homeschool him in math and science, and was taught English and History through online courses. When Felicity wasn't around to teach him, Curtis would come along, and he was quite a good teacher, except for when he would cook mac and cheese for William, which was the only thing he knew how to cook.

* * *

"This is pretty good." Curtis examined his work one day while Felicity was in a meeting regarding her company, aka her day job. "Although you got questions 3, 8, and 11 wrong, you're still getting it."

"You're the one who timed me with a stopwatch." said William.

"I just wanted to do it like they do it in school." Curtis shrugged. "Or how they did it when l went to school."

"Yeah, and when exactly was that? During the Stone Age?"

Curtis whipped his head around and gaped at the teenager. "I would have applauded you for that roast if it wasn't directed at me, you know."

* * *

Raisa had even started teaching William some Russian, just to get the boy a little more educated in other cultures around the world (and also because William never took another language in Star City Middle). But World Languages wasn't exactly William's best subject.

"Say it with me, William." Raisa said gently to the boy. "Я Уильям."

"Yah William." William struggled to say "I am William" in Russian.

"No you're lengthening the "a" sound too long." said Raisa. "Say it again. Ya."

"Yeah." William drawled.

* * *

His homeschooling lessons would last from 8:30 to 4 pm, with lunch at around 12 pm.

But after "school", as promised by one John Diggle, every Monday and Thursday, from 6-7:30 pm, he would come over to the safehouse, and train William in hand to hand combat. When he wasn't around to teach, Dinah would step in and William found her to be one badass of a teacher. She was tough, took no nonsense whatsoever, but she was a good teacher to William.

* * *

"Higher." Dinah barked at William, holding a small punching bag in front of him. William thrust his fist at her but she was faster than him, pulling back the bag. "Higher." He tried again but without success. "You seriously call that a punch?" Gritting his teeth in frustration, he punched the bag, while also clubbing Dinah in the chin.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" William kneeled in front of her. "I'll get some ice." But before he could so much as blink, Dinah took him by surprise and flipped him on his back.

"What the hell happened this time?" Dinah asked, holding his arm to pin him down while ignoring the blood trickling down her mouth.

"I hesitated?" William wheezed from the weight of Dinah's shoe on his chest.

"And why did you do that?" She pressed on, tightening her grip.

"Because I thought I hurt you?" He wheezed out again.

"Exactly." She got off him and helped him up. "You were  **thinking**. That's your problem, William. When you're defending yourself, you don't have time to plan out your next move, you gotta let it come to you."

William coughed. "Noted. Man, have you been working on your grip?"

"It's called practice, genius." Dinah handed him a water bottle. "I gotta go kiddo, I got SCPD duty in an hour. But don't think I forgot about your homework: Find some way to think with your body and not just your brain."

* * *

While Dinah Drake was a strict teacher, John was a lot more of the wise and noble sensei to William, throwing out great advice on both fighting and having courage when defending himself from someone who might be mugging him. Like Dinah, he occasionally scolded William for using his brains instead of his brawn. But he always backed it up with tremendously helpful advice.

* * *

"Don't worry about how strong your opponent is." John threw a punch but William blocked it. "Focus on yourself, and what your own strengths are." William threw two more punches and performed a jump front kick only for his leg to be caught by Diggle. He looked at the teenager, expecting another move, but instead William tapped his leg.

"Hey." Diggle let go of William's leg and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why'd you yield so quickly?"

"Cause one, you're twice the size of me." William counted off on his fingers. "Two, your arms are the size of bowling balls-no offense-and three, you're stronger than me, I wouldn't have been able to break from your hold. Bottom line, there was nothing I could do."

"Au contraire." Diggle suddenly threw him down on the floor and started pushing William's arms down with his own. "There's always something you can do. See, the key is to throw your opponent off balance."

"How?" William asked curiously, while using all of his strength to try to keep Diggle back.

"Use your imagination." Diggle pushed William's wrists down a little more. "Try to push me back."

For a few minutes, William struggled to push back against the 6 ft man. His arms were begging to stop, and he was no physical match for his sensei. He felt like giving up but, but he remembered what Dinah had told him:  _Think with your body, not your brain._

So he had to see the options that were presented before him. True, Diggle's arms were ridiculously huge, and he was twice as strong as William. But just because he wasn't as strong as Diggle, couldn't mean he wasn't also fast. So he raised his right leg and delivered a powerful kick to Diggle's chest that knocked him straight over the mat. Still acting on instinct, William jumped up and crouched into a fighting stance.

"Easy there, young grasshopper." said Diggle. "That wasn't too bad." He ruffled William's hair. "A little more practice and you might just be ready for the next level."

"What do you mean by next level?" William asked hopefully. "Does it mean a weapon? Will I get a bow and arrow like my dad?"

John chuckled at him. "Nice try. This is a  **self defense** class, you're not ready for weapons. I just meant more of the advanced moves."

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm ready for weapons." said William.

"Well if you think you're ready, I'm all in for a rematch. Is now a good time?" Diggle asked him.

"No thanks." William replied hastily.

"Good answer." said Diggle. "Hand-to-hand combat isn't about looking like a badass. It's also about patience and discipline, understanding what you're doing."

* * *

Occasionally, he went to see his father in the Slabside, and took every opportunity to talk with him, cherishing the moments he would have with his father. Oliver was still getting used to hearing about his son training in combat but he was proud that his son found an outlet to blow off his frustration. William took every opportunity to talk to his father about his homeschooling experience and often corrected William's accent whenever he tried to talk with him in Russian. Both father and son were proud of each other for being so brave in such troubling times.

But behind closed doors, it tore William apart to no end, having to lie to his family about his ulterior motives, but he felt he had no choice. He was doing what he felt had to be done, in order to reunite with his father. It was a good thing William spent every day of the past 4 months meticulously planning the break-in at ARGUS (he even thought it over in his sleep).

Thanks to the power of the Internet, teenagers had access to almost anything. But when a teenager like William had learned to be a pretty good hacker, access to ARGUS' blueprints, floor maps, and even the janitor's shifts were extremely beneficial. He had spent hours past his bedtime, studying everything he could about ARGUS and every nook and cranny he could get his hands on. He even went so far as to map a 3D model of the headquarters.

As to how he would slip inside and remain undetected, William had found out that the metahuman dampeners were a pain to remove from the ceiling and of course, bulletproof. But to William's complete surprise, they were easily controlled by the central surveillance room in ARGUS headquarters. He had also spent a great deal of time, researching the best advice from around the world on how to pull off a robbery in such a sophisticated place. There were 14,000 hits on William's hard drive for the word "cameras". There were also 750 hits on robberies involving metahumans, there were 300 hits on underground sewers connecting around and under ARGUS headquarters and there were 20 hits on transportation detail. Apparently there was a bus station on the border of Morrisville (the town near the ARGUS safehouse) that was about a mile away from where he was currently living, so it made it easy for William to get to Star City and back within the span of 6 hours before anyone could notice he was gone.

Despite his dedicated focus on the heist, William would also wake up early at 5:30 in the morning, to practice fighting hand to hand, then with a bo staff using a broom (he watched YouTube videos of experienced masters teaching the craft and copy their moves). He also scoured the World Wide Web, collating the latest news on Ricardo Diaz and placing it on his digital crime board.

One night, while practicing his bo staff skills, a thought struck William: He was missing one piece of his disguise-his head. While brown hair was common, his DNA was not. He knew there was a chance that someone could find a hair of his own and trace it back to him. So what would he use to make himself look like a complete stranger? He could always use a helmet, but it would be too bulky for his movement. A hood? It was tempting, but the point of any vigilante's suit was to make himself as unrecognizable as possible, so that would mean not taking up his father's mantle, so to speak.

He would need to get some inspiration for a complete disguise, but from where?

Checking the time on his alarm clock, he sighed in relief knowing that both Felicity and Raisa were deep asleep by then. It was 10:45, which meant the costume store in Morrisville would still be open. So he grabbed his green sweatshirt and stuffed his pockets with his saved up change ($20) and turned off the lights in his room.

* * *

Concentrating on feeling weightless, William phased through his bedroom door with ease and activated his invisibility.

Of all the aspects of the (secret) training and planning to be ready to stop Ricardo Diaz, there was one that stood out the most: His powers.

Every morning on the weekends, William would practice his abilities in his room and around the house when no one was looking. He had also researched on the Internet, meditation and breathing techniques because it was discovered that whenever William would get nervous or scared, his invisibility would act up. So William had spent his weekend mornings, meditating to manage his emotions and his breathing so no body parts would disappear. As for his intangibility, it was actually pretty straightforward-all he had to do was imagine he was light as a feather. He was still figuring out how to be both invisible and intangible at the same time, but at least the more he used his powers, the more he got used to the tingling feeling and the chill up his spine.

So yes, someone had certainly been a busy bee.

He was so entangled in his own thoughts, that William hadn't noticed just how fast he had been riding bike down to the bus station. A few minutes passed, William parked his bike at the bus station and put on his hoodie before becoming invisible. He was able to to slip in without any troubles and found himself sitting on a bench, waiting for the next bus. Next to him, were pamphlets containing schedules of a train station nearby the town. Trying to remain silent as stone, William plucked one of the pamphlets and placed it in his pocket, before heading back into the dark of night.

Soon, a bus headed to Morrisville pulled up to the bus station. While passengers filled in and out of the large vehicle, William walked around, looking for anything that would help him. See, he needed to find the best side of the bus to latch on for the ride. It seemed like a waste of time, but he couldn't let his face be seen, thanks to nosy reporters back in Star City.

Even if William wanted to ride the bus while invisible, he couldn't. During his training, he had discovered that turning invisible and maintaining it, was about the same as holding his breath; he could only last for so long before he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Making haste around the bus, William grabbed onto the side of the bus facing the darkened sky and felt a chill spread in his hands. He placed them through the bus and searched around for a bit before letting his hands become solid. He repeated the same process with his feet and the bus immediately rumbled to life, riding into the small town of Morrisville.

* * *

About 10 minutes later, WIlliam hopped off the bus in Morrisville and starting running into the town. He walked past a couple blocks and made a few right turns and a left before stepping in front of Ricky's Costumes. Luckily, it was still open and William let himself in, with his hoodie still covering his face.

He searched through aisle after aisle, piece of clothing after another, everything and anything that could help cover his head. But so far, he had found ridiculous wigs, oversized helmets and some kind of bat-like cowl that seemed too dark for him, even in the night.

Although wigs seemed like a good idea, they were either too bright or too long. The idea was to be hidden, in the shadows.

So William kept searching and searching in the costume store, until finally, in aisle 15, he found it: A short royal blue wig that looked to be about his size.

Turning around, he noticed that there was a large mirror at the wall, so he walked towards it, placed the wig on his head and marveled at his reflection. He truly looked like someone else, a hero even.

In a way, he looked like...

"A Blue Shadow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM! The name is finally revealed! Sorry I haven't been back in a while, I have been very busy but I am back and once William gets the suit, The Blue Shadow will enter Star City for the first time!


	9. The Slabside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm! This egg drop soup s really comforting, it's bringing out the feels! Oh wait, sorry I kept you waiting guys!

Today was the day. No, it was not the day of the heist, but rather, the day of seeing his father for another time after weeks of literally being separated by walls of slab. William looked out of the car window, hoping the prison would appear behind the passing trees.

"How are you feeling, William?" Felicity asked him, driving around a rock in the middle of the road.

"Ok, I guess." He replied softly. "I don't know, Felicity, it's prison. What if he's really hurt?"

"I know you're scared William." said Felicity. "But this tech genius has been keeping tabs on your dad and he's still in one piece." Realizing what had just escaped her mouth Felicity mouthed a swear word so William wouldn't hear it. But given his intelligence, he had a pretty good idea of what she said. "That did not come out right."

"No, it's fine." said William. "I'm just worried about seeing him with bruises."

"Same here, kiddo." Felicity replied wearily. "But whatever happens to him in prison, even though that's the last place both of us want him in, I think your father will heal up much faster just by seeing you."

"You really think so?" He asked.

"Of course." said Felicity. "There's nothing more helpful in any situation, than seeing the people you love."

* * *

They pulled up to the gloomy prison known as the Slabside and after being frisked more than twice by security guards, Felicity and William went inside the visitors room, to find an empty table with a guard staring at them with a thoughtless look.

"Wait here." Another slammed the door behind him and the tension thickened to a likeness of stone.

William had always feared being hurt was the worst thing that could happen to his father, but ending up in prison, cut off from the outside world and his freedom, was horror in real life. No matter how many times he visited, he couldn't imagine what his father would be going through every single day. But at least he had some idea of how he felt, to be cut off from the people he loved, not being able to hug them, cook with them, or share the adventures of his day, made William feel like he and Felicity were in a prison of their own-a prison of their hearts.

Which was why he had to become the Blue Shadow-to free his family from this nightmare once and for all.

But here he was, in the same place his father was incarcerated.  _Maybe I could break him out._ He wondered.  _After all, I literally have the power. Why shouldn't I do it?_ Just as soon as the idea entered William's mind, he realized why he couldn't do it.

 _It's not what Dad would do._ He clenched his fist, swallowing down the lump that formed in his throat.  _It's not what the Green Arrow would do. Isn't that how heroes are supposed to save people? By doing the right thing? But how does that even work?_

Before William could contemplate more on this subject, Oliver Queen came in, handcuffed and in a grey shirt and pants. But his aura was proud, headstrong, and happy, at least being surrounded by two of the people he would literally give his right arm for. It was as if he never went to prison. But the healing cuts and purple bruises on his face said otherwise. Nevertheless, he still acknowledged that he wasn't dreaming at all.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you both." He sat down in front of his wife and son. William stood up to hug his father but a guard roughly pushed him back down.

"Don't even think about it, punk." His arrogant voice nearly caused William to literally snarl at the prison guard.

"It's ok." Oliver said assuringly. "We'll just talk."

"You got 15 minutes." The guard headed back out.

"How charming of him." Felicity sarcastically drawled, keeping her anger in check.

"It's not as bad as it looks." said Oliver.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?!" Felicity shrieked. "I swear, we're gonna get you out of here."

"Felicity, we've talked about this." Oliver reminded her of her previous visit a couple of months ago.

"Все в порядке, отец." William spoke in Russian, though because of his atrocious pronunciation, it was hard for Oliver to tell that he was trying to say that it was alright to him.

"I see you've been learning Russian." said Oliver. "Although Raisa was right in her letters, you really need to work on your diction."

William tried not to roll his eyes, but his teenage tendencies overpowered him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." said Oliver. "Chinese is harder. I had trouble with that."

"How many languages do you know and where did you find the time to learn them?" asked Felicity.

"That's a story for another day." said Oliver. "But I wanna hear about you guys. I hear you've found a way to blow off steam, William."

"Yeah, Mr. Diggle and Aunt Dinah are awesome teachers." said William. "And I've been making breakfast when Raisa isn't around."

"What's wrong with just cereal?" Felicity asked innocently. "It's nutritious right?"

"You've changed since I've last seen you." Oliver spoke to his son. "You might as well be as tall as Felicity in a few months give or take."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, husband." Felicity snapped playfully.

"Ok, now you're just copying Nyssa." said Oliver.

"Who's Nyssa?" William asked.

"She's a friend of mine." said Oliver. "Who is somebody I will tell you about later."

William waited two seconds before replying, "Ok, it's later."

Oliver chuckled a little before saying to his son, "William, I didn't expect for you to be so strong about this whole ordeal and what you've been through but you continue to surprise me, son. Every letter I receive from you, makes my days in prison all the more bearable and I'm so proud of you I could go on for hours about how proud I am of you."

William's heart swelled with joy. Hearing those words come from his father, someone he had been looking up to for the past year, made him feel that maybe he wasn't so pathetic after all. He loved his father and the praise alone, was enough to remind him of how much his father loved him, making this particular visit to the prison all the more special.

Felicity was about to say something when a guard came back in and said promptly, "Time's up Queen."

Oliver rose from the table with no argument and gave a loving look at his wife and son before the guards pushed him out of the door

* * *

Later that night, William clutched the pencil in his hand and looked down at the blank sheet of paper. He had no idea of what to write in his latest letter. How could he top his father's praise with his own? He could tell him about his plan, about the Blue Shadow, just to give him the tiniest shred of hope, that he would one day escape the hellhole that he was locked up in. But even behind bars, his father would try to find some way to put an end to William's crusade.

So what would he write in his letter indeed?

Bringing the pencil down to the paper, he wrote his letter and as soon as he was done, he put the letter in the envelope when he remembered the most important rule of his mission: No one could know what he was up to. If he sent the letter now, his father would contact Lyla or worse, Felicity, resulting in the best case scenario: Having tracking devices sewn into his clothes, thereby ruining his chances of finding Diaz.

"I'm sorry, Dad." He spoke to the sheet of paper that held his words. "I'll tell you once I have a solid lead on Diaz and that I know I can stop him."

Holding his note to the light emitting from the lamp on his desk, William read the note one more time before storing it away.

* * *

_Dear Dad,_

_You say I've changed since you last saw me. You have no idea how much. The bad guys are still out there, waiting to take over this city. I don't know where he is or what he's planning but I do know this: Ricardo Diaz will wish I had died on Lian Yu._

_Your son,_

_William._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I've dragged you guys on long enough but do not worry. In the next chapter,Diaz will return and William's plan will be put into motion! Pretty soon, the Blue Shadow will haunt the streets of Star City for the first time!


	10. Good Luck-Wear Gloves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! The heist on ARGUS is about to begin!

_Go get it._ He would sometimes beg himself.  _You've got the plan, you've got the skills. Just go get the goddamn suit._

It was itching inside of William. He had a pretty solid plan and he knew exactly how to pull it off and get away with it. But each time the urge would come back, he would remind himself that in order to get a better chance of actually breaking into ARGUS undetected, he would have to wait for right moment, the opportunity that would present itself.

When he knew that most of ARGUS and the remaining members of the Green Arrow's team including Felicity would be distracted by something big, that would the the right time to slip in, disable the surveillance systems, take the elevator up to the 15th floor, take the suit, and get out before the override manual protocol would turn the cameras and metahuman dampeners back on.

All he could do for now, was keep practicing his combat training and wait patiently for the window of opportunity to open.

* * *

One night at 9:02 pm, Felicity's phone was ringing right beside her computer, where she was working on her new company Helix Dynamics. Activating the phone, she pressed it against her ear and muttered, "Hello?"

" _Felicity, you need to get down to ARGUS."_  Curtis spoke on the other side of the phone. " _Remember those Longbow Archers Oliver mentioned? We've found a lead on them, and if we can find these guys, we find Diaz._ "

"Are you sure?" Felicity asked hopefully.

" _Yeah, Dig's holding a briefing down at ARGUS HQ._ " Curtis spoke through the phone.

"I'll be there soon." Felicity hung up the phone and ran to William's room, to find him in his bed reading Sun Tzu's  _Art of War_.

"Hey kiddo." said Felicity. "Listen, I've got good news." William perked his head up at his stepmother's anxious face. "We've found a lead on Ricardo Diaz. We're not sure if this is a solid lead, but it's something."

"You're gonna be able to stop him?" William asked hopefully.

"Of course we'll stop him." Felicity gave her step-son a hug. "When we catch him, we'll stop him. But tonight buddy, I gotta head down to ARGUS to discuss this and try to see if I can find anything. Raisa is coming over to watch over you, ok?"

"Ok." William nodded, clutching Felicity's hand. "Don't worry, you'll find him." He spoke to her in a very convincing tone. "I know you all will find him. And when you do, kick his ass for me and Dad."

Felicity gave him a warm smile. "Thanks William. Oh, you really are an angel."

 _Wow, I can't believe she bought that._ He mused to himself as he gave her a comforting hug.

For weeks, William had taken online acting classes just to have the skills to be able to tell a convincing lie, make one up on the spot, and be able conceal his emotions. Judging from Felicity's reaction, it looked like those weeks of practicing those skills were paying off rather well.

"I love you Felicity."

"Love you too." She hugged him back. "Now go to sleep ok?"

"Ok." He watched her close the door behind her, then he crept out of the bed, and grabbed the tools he needed for tonight: His phone, print-out maps of ARGUS, John Diggle's key card, a phone charger, 2 cans of pepper spray, and some candy in case he got hungry. He stuffed his provisions in his backpack.

For his attire, he chose a thick black sweatshirt, black pants, dark Converse sneakers, black gloves, and of course, his royal blue wig.

He reached into his closet and pulled out a holographic projector-a little homeschooling project from Curtis as per the request of sweet little William who decided to try something new and exciting. Even he was surprised at how much adults adored kids, especially adults like Curtis Holt. He switched on the projector and a hologram of William, sound asleep, flashed on, he carefully placed the projector in a very concealed spot.

He surveyed his entire room, casing every inch and going over his to-do list dozens of times under the span of 2 minutes before deciding that this was it, the opportunity had arrived. The time was now.

Casting a sorrowful look at the picture of his deceased mother, he whispered as if he were speaking to her, "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry."

He activated his invisibility and followed his step-mother into the garage and when she was distracted to open the car with her keys, his body flickered to full visibility before phasing through the lid of the trunk. Once he was inside, he lay there in darkness, perfectly still and not moving a muscle to avoid detection. He put his hand over his mouth, so no one could hear him breathing.

He waited in the shadows for what felt like years, when it was only minutes before the engine started. Because it was located near the trunk, it was extremely loud for the young teen, causing him to clamp his hands over his ears.

But despite the loud noise, William couldn't help but feel the anticipation that had washed over him like a tidal wave. It was like he was on a scary roller coaster, travelling up a hill of great height, knowing he would plummet down at a high speed, while feeling his adrenaline at skyrocketing levels and the rushing wind blanketing his face as he continued.

In other words, William knew, that there was no turning back.

* * *

William had no idea what time it was. He had stayed in his fetal position in the trunk of Felicity's car, waiting for her to stop at ARGUS headquarters. The one time she did stop though, was when she had to get gas, and right as he phased his head out of the trunk, she almost spotted William in all of his blue wig glory. It was to his fortune that he was able to slip back into the trunk and escape detection.

By the time, they went back on the road, Felicity remained unaware that her car had a stowaway on it, and he had already gone over his plan for the heist at least a thousand times, just to be sure that he didn't overlook anything or he didn't miss a detail. He had envisioned this for 5 months, everything had to go according to plan. With his powers, combat skills and intelligence at his belt, William had to use every advantage present to hm.

At some point while Felicity was still on the highway, almost close to Star City, he had gotten bored and pulled out his phone, noticing the date and time:

October 18th, 2018, 10:04 pm

Punching in the passcode, he scrolled through the menu until he found the app for text messaging.

 _Hey._ He typed for Zoe Ramirez's phone. He waited a few minutes before he received a reply from his friend.

_What's up?_

Grinning at his friend's message, he typed in the words,  _Nothing much. Though to be honest, I'm kind of getting antsy from being stuck in this house. So I'm gonna do an activity to pass the time._

He waited for a few more minutes before Zoe texted back,  _What is this activity of which you speak?_

Wasting no time, William typed back,  _I'm gonna go on a scavenger hunt._

Immediately, Zoe replied with a curious emoji after the message:  _Really? What kind?_

William replied back with a text that read:  _The kind where I have to find something._

A little under half a minute passed before William found that Zoe replied with the words,  _William, it's cold out there. Please stay warm._

William smiled at his friend's kindness, before typing back,  _Don't worry. I'll be fine :)_

Another text came through, ending the conversation, and it read,  _Well, good luck-wear gloves._

* * *

Minutes later, the car came to a sudden halt and William heard the front door open and a pair of high heels walk away, right after a beeping of the car (which indicated that the doors were being locked) went off.

William waited for about 5 minutes, making sure no one was around. When he heard no footsteps echo in the place where the car was parked, William phased out of the car and found himself standing in a garage belonging to ARGUS headquarters (after becoming invisible of course). Luckily, William had downloaded the schematics of the building in his phone and scrolled through it, finding out where he was-at the sub-basement of the building. This meant, the elevator would be nearby to where the car was parked, which would take him to the 1st floor, where the surveillance room would be located.

He took a few steady breaths, in an effort to get himself ready to move.

"This is it William." He whispered softly to himself. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it's time to hand back the menus, because I think it's time to order the main course!


	11. Shoplifting at ARGUS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really sorry for not updating! I just moved to a new place and there’s been a lot of unpacking and a lot of other stuff that’s been keeping me busy for some time.
> 
> But for now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The heist on ARGUS!

The first thing that William did, after leaving his unsuspecting stepmother’s car behind, was swiftly trek to the elevator. Once he pressed the button for going up, he waited patiently for the right moment, while pressing his hand on the metal door. His extensive research taught him an old trick of sensing vibrations through metal. Specifically, he was sensing vibrations machines made.

 

While staying in the shadows, he became visible again and phased his neck through the elevator door, where the large metal box was coming up through the shaft.

 

“Ok, ok.” He told himself just as he lunged through the door, onto the elevator, landing catlike. Since no one stopped the elevator or security wasn’t called, that enough told the young man that no one was in the elevator. 

 

_ Hmm.  _ William thought to himself.  _ Everybody’s distracted trying to find Diaz, which should give me enough cover to slip in and out. _

 

He didn’t have to worry about being seen in the elevator shaft because his research told him that although ARGUS had metahuman dampeners and security cameras placed in an incredible majority of the building, there was one place where aside from steel plated doors, where there was no security at all: The elevator shaft, therefore giving William enough time to get ready to drop into the surveillance room. The first step to doing that, was fooling the monitors in the elevator.

 

Reaching inside his bag, he pulled out his pepper spray and adjusted the knob so it would only release a small amount of the chemical cocktail. But suddenly, his mind flashed back to when he watching Catching Fire from the Hunger Games series one time, and an important quote whispered in his ears:

 

_ “There’s always a flaw in the system.” _

 

William chuckled quietly, positioning his pepper spray bottle over the far left corner, where the camera would be. According to his research, there would be a very thin line of two inches between the camera and the ceiling, where the metahuman dampeners would not affect anything-enough room for William to phase the tips of his fingers containing the bottle and squeeze just the tiniest amount into the wires, causing the camera to freeze where it was recording.

 

He waited on top of the metal box for a few minutes (in case security got suspicious) he realized that he was free to get inside. He figured that if he used his powers the metahuman dampeners would detect him somehow, so he opened the hatch next to the cables connected to the pulley system and jumped in, without making a sound.

 

He pressed the button for Floor One and felt an extra rush of air blow into his hair as the elevator was pulled up. But he was already on his way back through the hatch because he had memorized the floor plans and schematics of the building. He knew that if he were to walk in the hallways of the first floor while the metahuman dampeners were operational and cameras monitoring his every move, he would get caught in less than two seconds. So for now, he needed to wait for the elevator to hit the right angle, in order for him to be able to phase through the wall right into the surveillance room, which was conveniently placed right next to the elevator shaft.

 

But as he waited to jump while the elevator passed a few floors, while closing the hatch, he started to feel suffocated by the fear that was creeping inside him. Despite his months of practice, the tingling feeling of his invisibility was spreading all over his entire body like fire ants capturing their prey. For a moment, he froze, unable to breathe or think at all. 

 

_ What if I can’t pull this off?  _ He began to shake with terror.  _ What if I get caught? What if I get sent to prison? _

 

But just as he began to panic, he pinched himself on his neck. 

 

“Get ahold of yourself William.” He whispered angrily to himself. “Don’t be such a coward. This is for Dad, for your entire family.”

 

Right on cue, the elevator began to slow down, a sign that the first floor was drawing in close. So William crouched into a stance, the kind that runners took before beginning their race. His cobalt eyes locked onto the wall, he sprung into a leap of faith.

Agent Smith was watching the surveillance monitors as per his job for tonight. He was slightly unhappy that he didn’t get to go out into the field to try to find Diaz like most of the agents, but somebody had to keep watch of ARGUS Headquarters and he was more than willing to keep to do his job.

 

“Umph!”    
  


Agent Smith shot out of his seat, armed with his gun, and pointed at the wall.

 

“This is government property and you’re trespassing!” He yelled to while pointing his gun at every direction, trying to find the intruder. “Surrender now and no harm will be done!”

 

He saw someone step out of the shadows, and it appeared to be a teenage boy with blue hair and black clothing. Although he didn’t seem to pose as a threat, his trained instincts screamed otherwise. But he had two kids and an ex-husband, so he couldn’t help but feel pity for the young man who had obviously made some bad decisions tonight.   
  


“Son,” He kept his voice less steel-like and more sympathetic, so he could try to get this kid to rethink his actions before neither would make a mistake they both would regret. “I’m not gonna hurt you, but you have to come with me, ok?”

 

The boy with the blue hair stepped forward next to a table and said to him, “I’m sorry.”  Without warning, he gripped the chair and it came flying towards the agent who ducked out of the way. 

 

Agent Smith was about to press the panic button, which would send backup to the monitor room, when the boy grabbed his arm and shot an enormous jet of pepper spray into the agent’s eyes. As soon the man began to scream from the scorching pain that was bubbling in his eyes, he felt his hair being pulled and just as his face made brutal contact with the steel cabinet next to him, he knew no more.

William breathed heavily, trying to process at what he had just done. But he swallowed his regret and kept his mind focused on the task. 

 

Cracking his knuckles, he opened the security mainframe and carefully analyzed each of the systems until he found what he was looking for; the key to switching off both the cameras and the metahuman dampeners. But as he studied this system, he rediscovered the problem in his plan: The Emergency Override Protocol. Apparently every time either the metahuman dampeners or cameras or even both were disabled, there would be an automatic sequence of codes that itself would turn them back on. What was even more troubling, was that this sequence of codes would come at some time between 5-10 minutes. So he would have to act fast.

 

After running some math in his head, William punched in his phone, the time he estimated it would take for him to grab what he needed and get out: 7 and a half minutes.

 

Once he did that, he turned his attention back to the computer and after typing a few more keys, every single metahuman dampener and camera within the entire facility were shut down.    
  


Starting the timer on his phone (which was on airplane mode so no one could trace his signal), William checked outside for anyone passing through, opened the door and activated his invisibility while calling the elevator in order to go up.

 

Phase One was complete and it was time to begin Phase Two.

No one in ARGUS suspected it. How could they? With everyone so focused with finding the scumbag known as Ricardo Diaz and the security being temporarily shut down, how could anyone suspect that in an elevator on its way to the 15th floor, was a young metahuman about to come into a suit, in order to pursue his mission of finding Diaz himself?

 

With only minutes to spare, William was visible in the elevator, but only at the moment, waiting to sneak into the hallway. 

 

DING!

 

Taking a breath as means to calm himself, William’s fingers found themselves rubbing each other, just as the elevator reached the 15th floor. When the elevator doors opened, William became invisible again, stepping out into the hallway.

 

It was a good thing no one else was around, because then no one could see him attempt to use his intangibility to get inside his target area. But to his surprise, he felt a shock of electricity, which suspended his intangibility. 

 

_ Huh. That’s new.   _ He stared at his body which was completely separate from the door. This apparent weakness was something worth looking into. But now, he needed to get what he came for. So he fished out John Diggle’s key card, swiped it against the black pad, and just as he expected it to occur, the red light above the pad turned green, indicating him full access to Team Arrow’s weapons vault.

 

Once he shut the door behind him, and hid against the wall next to the door, so nobody passing by would see him. With the scene displayed in front of him, he couldn’t help himself but to take it all in-costumes in display cases, masks in a neat and orderly fashion, an arsenal of guns, arrows, bows, bullets, bo staffs, and tonfas. But the thing that took his breath away, was his father’s Green Arrow suit, illuminated by lights underneath it, making it all the more surreal. 

 

He never admitted it to anybody, but after accepting his father as the Green Arrow, and seeing him in the suit, William thought of his father as an avenging angel, one that this crime ridden city desperately needed, which also made William feel extremely small compared to the giant figure that was Oliver Queen. William knew he would have big shoes to fill but he wasn’t sure if he could do it. What if he wasn’t worthy of filling his father’s legacy? What if he wasn’t ready at all?

 

No. He would be ready, he just needed to man up and face the darkness that plagued his home.

 

By finding Ricardo Diaz and bringing justice for his father, he would finally prove his worth as the Son of the Green Arrow  **and** Oliver Queen.

 

William clenched his fists while hiding under the cover of his invisibility. He was already angry at himself for wasting two minutes of valuable time over nostalgia and self doubt. 

 

When he opened the case for the Black Canary’s suit, he hesitated for a second, before regaining his composure before pulling the leather jacket off and storing it in his backpack. After grabbing the latex black gloves along with the bulletproof vest in his size, he snatched the extendable black metal rod. Then, he grabbed a voice modulator (which he would tweak to his liking when he would get back home), smoke pellets, a taser, more pepper spray, and a small utility belt for holding his weapons and his phone.

 

He went over his “shopping list” in his head, and realized that he almost forgot one of the most important parts of his outfit: his mask.

 

It was a good thing all the masks were lined up according to size, so William picked up a black domino leather mask that had a tight elastic strap to put around the head, and the eyepieces were at the appropriate size for William to see and the leather wasn’t too constricting on the face.

 

After checking his list and everything in his bag, William sighed in relief, Phase Two was finished. Now it was time to begin Phase Three, also known as “Getting the hell out of there.”

 

William looked outside one more time before checking how much time he had on his phone: 2 minutes. 

 

When the hallway appeared to be empty, William opened the door and had to turn invisible at a split second, when two ARGUS agents walked down together.

 

“How is Diaz still in the wind?” One of them asked.

 

“I don’t know, Howard.” the girl next to him replied. “Rumor has it though that Anatoly Knyazev, that Russian guy, he’s somehow broken out of custody.”

 

“Come on, DeLeo, you can’t believe that!” Howard told her.

 

“Remember when he used to work for Diaz?” DeLeo challenged him.

 

William couldn’t help himself as he followed them, turning on his phone’s camera so he could record their conversation. He knew he only had a spare amount of time before the security came back online but he had heard the name of the Russian man before, when his father and Felicity would talk about Cayden James and then eventually, Ricardo Diaz. William never knew anything about this man, but whoever he was, he worked for Diaz. If he worked for Diaz, he would know how he worked, what places he frequented, and who he trusted.

 

The solution was clear: If William found Anatoly, he would find Diaz.

 

But even though William turned off his phone, having gotten the information he needed, finding information on Diaz would have to wait, because he only had 40 seconds on the clock before the security came back online.

 

William ran, as silently as he could and as fast as he could manage, waiting for the elevator to come to him the millisecond he pressed the button with the arrow pointing down.

 

He waited for about 10 seconds, while struggling to hold onto his invisibility, almost reaching his limits with his ability. Beads of sweat started appearing on his forehead in small droplets but William still held onto his strength. 

 

Finally the elevator door opened, and William slipped inside. But while he was regaining his strength, he checked the timer-only 30 seconds remained.

 

William did his best not to panic as the elevator passed each floor after another while each second of the clock slipped through his fingers.

 

When the elevator door opened on the first floor (with William suddenly becoming invisible of course) he didn’t need to check the timer to know he only had 15 seconds left. So he ran and kept running and running even as he burst through the doors and ran outside far away from the building as he could (he also knew that there would be extra security measures within 30 feet of the perimeter). His muscles were sore from holding his invisibility, his breath ragged, but William kept pushing through and he just kept running, with his backpack jumping on his back with every step he took.

 

5...

 

William’s arms were pumping him through his sprinting.

 

4…

 

William felt a small throb in his side, but ignored it as if it was nothing at all.

 

3...

 

His legs couldn’t stop moving even if he wanted them too.

 

2…

 

It didn’t matter to him if he was starting to feel tired. He needed to get to the train station and he needed to get there now.

 

1…

**BEEEP!**

 

William screamed, regaining his visibility and running through another car that was driving on the highway. He was completely shocked so he kept running through the highway passing through vehicles that zoomed on the road, while completely ignoring someone yelling at him, calling him a crazy punk.

 

He kept running for about half a mile before stopping near Star City to catch his breath. Taking a few moments to collect himself, the adrenaline slowly dying down, William couldn’t help but feel a little giddy of what had transpired that night. He looked back over his shoulder, ARGUS Headquarters out of his sight by then, but he smiled at the sense of accomplishment that soared inside him.

 

At just 13 years old, William Clayton had pulled off what was deemed to be inconceivable: A robbery at ARGUS, right under their noses.


	12. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys see the trailer for season 7? It was beyond AWESOME!
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

When the briefing was over, the staff of ARGUS spread out to their own posts to try to come up with ways to track down Diaz. He was a hard man to catch, no doubt. But still, it didn't hurt to have just a little bit of hope in the midst of desperate times. But ARGUS wasn't the only team at work.

Felicity, John, Lyla, Dinah, Rene, and Curtis were all still working together, talking with one another about anything each of them could do to find Diaz.

"I'm doubting he's up to his old tricks." Rene replied hotly to a question John asked the others. "Diaz already tried taking over the city, I don't think he's gonna want that much attention again."

Lyla made a noise of agreement. "He's got a point. I think we should be expanding our resources probably outside of Star City."

"He did seem pretty adamant on taking over this town so I don't think he's going anywhere." said Dinah when they were near the Weapons Room, "Even if the FBI is watching over this city like a hawk."

"Yeah but if there's one thing we've got that they don't, it's …" Curtis froze at the door of the Weapons Room.

"It's what?"

Felicity stopped the others before Rene could speak anymore. She noticed the tall man directing laser like focus inside the room.

"Hey guys?" He hesitated for a minute. "Did any of you come in here during our briefing?"

"No, we were all with Lyla, remember?" Felicity asked and this answer seemed to have only worried Curtis even more.

"Yo Hoss." Rene hissed at Curtis. "Spider-Sense tingling?"

"I'm not sure." Curtis took out his keycard. (All of Team Arrow had one, including Oliver before he was imprisoned) "But something doesn't feel right." He went inside the room and investigating every spot that held an item of valuable use,

"Curtis, what's going on?" John asked worriedly.

"I'm starting to see why he's worried." DInah pointed to the glass case containing Earth-1 Laurel Lance's suit. "Her jacket's not here."

"If somebody misplaced it-"

"I'm not so sure about that." said Rene. "Look around. It's not a lot but some equipment is missing, and I'm getting the sense that somebody's been here."

"Rene, if you're saying someone stole some equipment from here, that's impossible." said Lyla. "This is a secure facility-"

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Lyla answered her phone and automatically said to it, "Report."

" _Director Michaels._ " A male voice replied from the other end of the line. " _We've just discovered Agent Smith in the surveillance room. He's been beaten unconscious and the security's been tampered with! We've lost more than 7 minutes of footage!"_

A startled Lyla looked at Rene, who in turn, was also stunned to hear the news. But in typical fashion of his character, he raised his hands as if to say, 'What did I tell you?'

* * *

Edging into the city, William crept within the darkness, walking on the balls of his feat to avoid making too much sound. He was being steered by two parts of himself: the wannabe vigilante and the adrenaline-powered teenager, boldness and excitement. So it was hard for William to walk the line in between, especially in the short time that had passed since escaping detection from ARGUS headquarters.

But while he followed the map on his phone (he downloaded it so Felicity wouldn't track his GPS), he could not silence the gnawing feeling in his chest-the kind that felt like thousands of little critters, tearing at your heart with their sharp claws. The critters were telling him something, and one word was enough to understand what they were trying to say:

Guilt.

It was an ugly feeling that he guessed immediately, was something he would have to get used to quickly. After all, he could ease the guilt by stopping Diaz, right?

Shaking his head, William decided that he needed to focus and get to the train station.

* * *

"Hold on a minute, Hoss." Rene paced back and forth angrily. "How could there be almost no evidence?"

"Rene-"

"Someone was here!" He interrupted Curtis and continued pacing. "But there's no footage, no fingerprints, no bombs set off, and the only evidence we've got is a witness who has a concussion!"

"I was going to tell you, unless you're doing blowing off steam. Which i don't want to interrupt you doing, unless, you know, it's kind of-"

"Curtis!" Dinah interrupted her comrade.

"Sorry. Rambling." Curtis adjusted his glasses. "I've been browsing through ARGUS files, and it seems like the Armory was accessed by John Diggle about 20 minutes ago."

"But that's impossible." said John. "I was right there with you guys the whole time."

"Yeah but here's the thing." Curtis pulled up some schematics on his laptop. "According to the mainframe, John's ID card was used to access that room but only after the security was disabled for an entire 7 and a half minutes."

"You're absolutely right Curtis." Felicity walked in with Lyla.

"How is he?" Diggle asked, concerned for his old friend. He had known Patrick Smith from his time in the army.

"He's going to be ok." Lyla said assuredly to her husband. "Medics are making sure he's ok but we've just called in the Flash and Vibe. They're here to help investigate this."

"Why call in the Flash?" asked Dinah. "You're not saying this perp's a metahuman, are you?"

"Actually yes." said Felicity. "It turns out that he might be because the cameras and the metahuman dampeners were both turned off for the duration of time that Curtis mentioned. Plus nobody saw them so unless he or she is one seriously cautious thief, there's no other reason to suspect that we've got a metahuman on our hands."

"Well that's saying something Blondie. I mean it's not like we can't handle one who isn't a pain in the ass." Dinah cleared her throat behind him, making Rene turn around and cower under her questioning look. "Except for you, D. You're awesome."

Dinah smirked. "Right." She turned her attention to Felicity while Lyla started talking to someone on the phone. "Are you sure there's no footage on this perp? What about before the monitors were disabled? Is there anything that can give us a view of what they look like?"

Felicity shook her head, her pony tail swishing back and forth "If I could pull it up, I would, but whoever this was, knew what the hell he was doing. Any footage showing anything unusual was wiped out before the security was disabled."

"So we're dealing with a pro." said Rene.

Lyla hanged up the phone and turned to the team. "He's gonna be ok. Cisco is vibing him? I believe he used that word." Felicity smiled at her. "Barry's canvassing the display case in the armory room. But Patrick is ready to tell us what happened."

They headed down to the surveillance room where two guards were blocking the door. Once they saw their boss, they cleared the path immediately, allowing Team Arrow to walk towards the door.

But before one of them could open it, Cisco Ramon or "Vibe" stepped outside.

"I'm assuming there's very bad news?" Felicity asked worriedly.

"No there's actually both good news and bad news." said Cisco as he straightened his jacket. "The good news is, Agent Smith, whose name is not totally relevant to the Matrix (Lyla raised an eyebrow at this), his memory isn't too busted, so I was able to see what had happened. Turns out this metahuman? He came in through the wall. Literally!"

"Great." Rene complained. "Just what we needed. Someone who can walk through walls." Felicity elbowed him sharply.

"That's where the bad news comes in." said Cisco. "I vibed the place where the guy fell through and there was an energy signature that I could sort of read."

"Sort of read?" Dinah parroted to the engineer.

"I wasn't able to see his face since I didn't have something belonging to them." Cisco explained. "But I did get a read on his energy. And...there's something cold about it."

"Like Killer Frost cold?" asked John.

"No, not that." Cisco replied quickly. "It's hard to describe." He racked his brain, trying to think of the best way to explain the strange essence left behind. "You know when you're in some place haunted, and you feel all cold inside? That's what I felt."

"So basically, not only is there a metahuman on the loose with stolen ARGUS property, but he also happens to be a ghost?" Rene asked Cisco skeptically.

"Oh if you think that's the craziest part, just wait till you find out how old this guy is." Cisco retorted.

"I'm sorry, Cisco." Felicity looked at her friend. "What do you mean, 'how old this guy is'?"

"That, I'm gonna Agent Smith talk to you about." Cisco gestured to the door. "Honestly, this guy  **says** he hasn't seen the Matrix. Now I've gotta think of a name for this guy."

The engineer's antics weren't new to Star City's crime fighters so they brushed it off and went inside, to find Agent Smith buttoning up his shirt. He had a bruise on his right eye that was the size of a baseball and a wooden chair lay in pieces near the monitor board.

"Hey man." John greeted his old friend.

"Isn't this a surprise?" Patrick shook John's hand. "Something big goes down and you brought the entire Arrow squad here."

"Well with Diaz still in the wind and now this criminal to deal with, I'd say we're going to need every advantage we can get." John replied.

"Fair enough." Patrick sat down. "I assume you all want to know the story?" Lyla nodded at the agent, allowing him to continue. "I'm here watching the monitors. I hear a noise so I grab my gun, ready to attack. But then out of the light, comes this kid. He throws a chair at me and we start a fight before the lights go out" Patrick rubbed his head, the pain dulled by medication. "Trust me, this punk put up a fight."

"Wait." said Curtis. "You mentioned a kid, but where was the intruder?"

Patrick signed in resignation, knowing full well that there was a 50/50 chance of all of them believing him.

"The kid  **was** the intruder."

The only noise that filled the surveillance room in the moments that followed was the busy chatter of the agents outside, scrambling to find Diaz and the mystery thief.

But the disbelief on everyone's faces spoke volumes. Everyone in the room knew at least one kid; Zoe, JJ, and William. Besides, Joe West recently had a baby a few months before and Barry Allen was dealing with his own grown up daughter from the future. How could they comprehend that a young kid, who had apparently misused their gifts, risked going to prison for just a few items of clothing? What could possibly motivate a young child to pull a stunt dangerous as this? Money? Even so,the suspicion itself of a child, just seemed too bizarre to comprehend

Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case, as Rene started voicing the thoughts of his friends:

"You really expect us to believe that some snot nosed punk kicked your ass while grabbing some valuable shit and got away with it?"

"I know it sounds crazy, Ramirez." Patrick straightened his back. "But I know what I saw. He looked between the ages of 13-15."

"I'm starting to see Rene's point on this."said Curtis. "I mean, I trust your word, totally and 100%. But a kid, especially at the age range you just gave? I just can't help but find that a little hard to believe."

Patrick nodded sympathetically. "I can relate. Cisco probed my head more than twice just to be sure he knew what he was seeing. Hell, I still have trouble believing it."

"You know what I say?" Dinah stood in her place firmly, facing the rest of her team-Curtis and Rene in particular. "I say we should be looking for this kid instead of kidding ourselves." She turned her attention back to the man next to Diggle. "Smith, what did he look like?"

"He had on black clothing, black gloves, and blue hair." Dinah was taking notes, paying attention to each and every detail, while Lyla ordered other agents to start looking for anyone with blue hair who matched the description Patrick had given out.

Felicity on the other hand was brought back to the first time she had dyed her hair blonde. She was thinking of dying her hair again, but this time it would be pink. Just to maintain a cover for when she would go out to get some food.

"Guys!" Cisco burst in. "I got it!"

"You found some evidence?" Curtis asked hopefully.

"Better." said Cisco. "A name. What do you think of the Silent Spector?"

"Ehh, I think it could be better." Felicity quipped back at him.

* * *

Inside Star City Transit Center, hundreds of people scrambled amongst each other in order to get to their trains. Even at these late hours, people still needed to get somewhere, and luckily, the police were on the lookout for any trouble. So far, no suspicious characters were found.

" _Now Boarding on Track 7 for Olympia. Now Boarding on Track 7 for Olympia."_

Within seconds, people were spreading all over the train in order to reach the train that was headed towards the state capital. No one paid attention to what another looked like, which was why it was easy for William to slip in with his hoodie completely covering his head (he made sure not to look suspicious, so he kept his gloves, his tools and his mask safely tucked in his backpack). He considered getting different colored wig just to disguise himself further. But he didn't need to worry at the moment, even when the conductor asked for his ticket (paid for by his saved up allowance).

He waited patiently for the hour to pass, and true to the schedule, the train stopped at Morristown. William quickly walked out onto the fastest route back to the safehouse.

When he was halfway back home, he pulled out his phone and noticed that it was already 1 in the morning. To him, it felt like he was out in Star City for far longer.

He rubbed his hands together, to fight the October chill. In doing so, he looked up to the sky-it was as dark as ink and the stars twinkled like the most precious of diamonds.

He wasn't brought up under any religion, but he had always believed in Heaven and Hell. He was certain his mother was in the former, watching over him.

He wondered if (Earth-1) Laurel Lance, had also been watching over him. He had heard great stories of her bravery, her courage and most of all, the comforting warmth of her compassion. He wondered if she was watching over him.

Then he thought about Quentin, someone who he knew better than Laurel. William could never figure out how the man always knew what to say whenever something happened, regardless of whether it was good or bad. If he were alive and aware of what he had done, what would he say? Would he be disappointed in him?

He only knew him for about a year and only during certain encounters with his father but the man had always been there for him, whenever Felicity, his father or Raisa wasn't there. He was a good listener and a great storyteller. He never seemed to run out of stories about Team Arrow, he would secretly tell William embarrassing moments from his father's and aunt's childhood. Quentin Lance made every moment with his surrogate grandson.

William didn't know if he could hear him, but he felt like he needed to say something.

"Grandpa Lance?" William could have sworn he saw a star twinkle as soon as those words escaped his mouth. "I'm not sure if you know I'm trying to speak to you. But if you are, I just thought you should know, that it's me, it's William. And I miss you, all of us do." He put on his blue wig. "I'm sort of making this up as I go along but I'm definitely one step closer to finding Ricardo Diaz. But to do that, I need to borrow this." He took out of his backpack, Laurel's jacket. "Our family is trying to move on from Dad getting put behind bars. They're all wrong and Dad is counting on us to protect our home. But we can't do that without him. I know you would agree. You would have told us all to keep fighting, to listen to our guts." He rubbed his fingers together, unsure of what to say next. "So...if it's ok with you, I'm gonna go out there and stop the bad guy! Just like you did!"

Slipping his arms through the sleeves, rolling them up to fit his hands, William Clayton felt more like the Blue Shadow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! That was another chapter out! I've also watched the comic con trailer for the Flash and it's got me PUMPED UP! WHOO!


	13. The Transformation Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm late! I've been a little busy lately but not to worry! I have returned with another chapter!
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

* * *

By the next morning, everyone who was connected to ARGUS in some fashion still stood in collective shock. There had been numerous attempts in the past, so a burglary was no surprise, especially for the Diggles. But the crime itself wasn't what stunned secret community -it was the age of the perpetrator. Since its inception, the organization had dealt with one or two minors who had violated federal statutes, but they had never dealt with a child this dangerous.

Which was why no one was sure of what to do once the mysterious thief was apprehended. Since Washington State had lenient but strict laws on prosecuting juveniles, there were bound to be legal complications which would likely mean that the perpetrator would at minimum be sentenced 15-36 weeks for first-degree burglary.

Even though the public and the FBI were kept in the dark about this, it didn't take long for rumors to start spreading within ARGUS, as well as Teams Arrow and Flash.

* * *

"It had to have been someone whom Diaz hired!"

"But what could Diaz want with the Black Canary' suit?"

"It could be someone's kid, looking for revenge."

"I hardly think that stealing clothes qualifies as revenge."

"What if it's one of those Earth-2 doppelgangers?"

"Could be."

"I still think Smith was hallucinating from the concussion. I mean, there's no way a kid could have been that skilled or smart to pull this off."

* * *

While none of these rumors came close to the truth, Barry Allen was determined to figure out the motivation. He had canvassed the Armory at least a dozen times, during which a new theory occurred to the speedster: The materials that were taken could be used to create a makeshift vigilante costume. But the questioned remained concrete in the CSI investigator's mind: If this kid was trying to take the law into his own hands, would he be a hero or a villain?

* * *

When William woke up for breakfast, he had to check his hiding spot to make sure that last night wasn't a dream. Feeling the soft hair of his wig between his fingers, he quickly put it away, remembering his mission.

Just as William opened the door, Raisa was already standing there with her fist raised, as if to knock.

"Morning Raisa." William greeted happily.

"Good morning." She frowned at his tousled appearance. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Although William's face remained impassive, he was panicking when he remembered that he had been awake a little way past his bedtime.

Lucky for him, he already had an excuse devised in less than 2 seconds.

"Sorry Raisa." He rubbed his eyes to make his alibi more convincing. "It was one of those sleepless nights. I thought listening to music would help."

Raisa made a tsking sound. "I told you technology wouldn't help with sleep. Especially with those big headphones of yours. Now come, breakfast is waiting for you."

By the time William sat down for breakfast, he was met with the sight of Felicity in what he called, "Major Work Mode" with her phone, tablet, and computer. She seemed intensely focused on her work because the plate of eggs and toast that was by her side had not even been touched.

"I've been trying to get her to take a break," Raisa explained to William as she served him a helping of eggs and pancakes. "I was hoping you could help."

William focused his vision on Felicity and it wasn't long before he realized how he would get his step-mother's attention. He pulled out his phone and began texting her:

_Hi._

Felicity had her phone in her grasp the second the familiar buzz went off.

_What's up, William? :)_

William texted back:

_Nothing much except that breakfast is boring without you._

Felicity texted:

_I'm in the middle of something, William._

William smirked. She was falling right into his trap

_Come on, Felicity. He texted. Don't make me use the emojis._

Even without looking up from his phone, he could tell that Felicity was running out of cards to use.

 _You wouldn't dare._  She texted back

William chuckled and texted a sad-faced emoji with a single tear running down its face. As if that wasn't enough, he also sent two more emojis-one of a small dog giving the puppy eyes and another of a bright smiling face.

After several minutes of struggling, Felicity turned off her devices and placed them on a table nearby.

"You can thank Grandma Smoak later." William dug into his food while Felicity gave her step-son a knowing smile as she went to the microwave to heat up her food.

"Oh I will," said Felicity. "But let's talk about you, William. Did you sleep well."

"If you don't count him staying up all night listening to that music." Raisa quipped.

"In my defense, I couldn't sleep last night and it was slow music." William quickly shot back.

"I feel you," said Felicity. "When I was in school, and I couldn't sleep, I would just listen to the radio. Reciting Pi and counting sheep doesn't really work once you've done it a thousand times."

They continued eating their breakfast in peace, sharing conversation with one another until William asked, out of pure curiosity,

"So Felicity, what was it you were working on?"

Felicity's lips had barely touched her coffee mug when she had heard the question. She wasn't so sure of how exactly to respond since ARGUS needed to keep the investigation confidential. Then again, she had promised William that she would be open and honest with him.

"Is it about Diaz?" He asked again.

"Nope," said Felicity. "Someone robbed ARGUS last night."

Inside his mind, William was intrigued. Had they noticed it already? He was sure he didn't leave anything behind, but he had to be sure they didn't know it was him.

"You're kidding, right?" William asked. "Isn't ARGUS was supposed to be top secret and everything."

Felicity made a noise of agreement. "It is. But apparently, the guy didn't really care."

"What did he steal?" asked William. "Some kind of weapon?" Did I just refer to myself in the third person?

"That's what one would think," said Felicity. "But no, it was equipment. A friend of ours thinks it's enough for a suit."

William raised an eyebrow. "But Star City just pulled an Incredibles and made superheroes illegal. What would he need a suit for?"

"That's an excellent question" said Felicity. "But whoever this person is, he's messing with things he doesn't understand."

"You'll find him, Felicity," William gave his step-mother a warm smile. "I believe in you."

But suddenly, Felicity's phone vibrated with a call from Curtis Holt. "Hold up, I gotta take this." But before she retreated to her room, she gave William a hug. "You really are the best."

While watching her leave, William smiled to himself, twisting his knife into his eggs.

* * *

After cleaning up breakfast, William went back to his room. He was in the middle of making his bed when he remembered his conversation with Felicity; when she mentioned not knowing the identity of the person who robbed ARGUS. If she didn't know that it was him, that meant the rest of the adults who were with Team Arrow and/or ARGUS were just as unaware of it as she was. In other words, William had gotten away with burglary.

But he couldn't obsess about that now-he needed to plan his next night as the Blue Shadow.

It was also then, that he realized that he didn't feel guilty about lying anymore-instead he felt relief. It was as if a headache that had been bothering him had disappeared.

 _It's not so bad._  He thought to himself.  _Once you've done it a few times. In a way, it's kind of like a game._

Once he was done fluffing his pillow, he walked up to the mirror. Looking at his reflection, he remembered why it was starting to become easy for him to lie; he was the good child, the perfect son, William Clayton good manners and good grades. In short, he was a Boy Scout.

But after all, this was William's life. Why shouldn't he be allowed to have a change of heart?

His reflection smiled back at him. "I think it's time for a little fun. Don't you?"


	14. Anatoly Knyazev

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, I leave for college in a couple of days so I will try to write as best as I can. All I know is that the next few weeks are going to be pretty hectic.
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

_"Yes, I remember when he used to work for Diaz," said Agent Howard Brown. "As a matter of fact, he turned himself in to give information on him. But what's he got to do with the Dragon himself?"_

_"Diaz is still in the wind but there may be a way to find him," said Agent Sofia DeLeo_

_"How?" Howard asked there's an assignment set on capturing the Russian_

_"Glad you asked." DeLeo stuck her chin up daringly. "See, when Anatoly's escape from custody was investigated, there's been theories that he had some help, as in the Bratva. Rumor has it that any Pakhan can accept an exile back if said exile does a heavy string of chores for them."_

_"Sounds like any other desperate man looking for a line of work," Howard commented. "But how does ARGUS come into play?"_

_"Our computer team intercepted an encrypted phone call with Anatoly and a captain a few days before," DeLeo continued with her arms crossed. "In 48 hours one of our agents is gonna pose as one of the Bratva men, who will discuss the details of a drug shipment with them Once we know everything, the rest of the team on the assignment will drop in and arrest them. After that, we'll interrogate Anatoly on where Diaz is and put a freeze on the drug trade. In short, we kill two birds with one stone."_

_"Don't you think that's a long shot?" Howard asked. "I mean there is Laurel Lance-"_

_"Who is the mayor of Star City now," said DeLeo. "The FBI's pretty much taken over Star City since the Green Arrow got put behind bars. With everything that's happening, ARGUS needs to be under the radar more than ever. And FYI, we asked the Green Arrow on how a conversation with the Bratva works, so we'll have no problem getting him to talk."_

_"Where's it gonna go down?" Howard asked._

_"They're expecting a white van with the license plate ARRW07CW, to pick him up at midnight," said DeLeo. "They'll be driving straight to the docks for their get together."_

* * *

William turned off his phone, after listening to the recorded message for the umpteenth time. He figured it was the best way to pass the time on his train ride to Star City. Tonight was the night that DeLeo had described; when Anatoly Knyazev would make his move in an attempt to rub elbow with the infamous Bratva-something he would have to ask his father about sometime in the future.

For the rest of the train ride, the plan remained simple; in order to get to Anatoly, he would have to find that van before ARGUS did. But like most simple plans, there was a slight hitch:

He didn't know how he was going to stop it or how he would get Anatoly to talk.

It seemed that he was making this up as he went along, but it was better than having absolutely no idea what he was doing, even if that was half true in William's case.

* * *

Out in the dark of night, The Blue Shadow ran in the streets, hoping to find some trace of the van. It had been 20 minutes since he arrived and midnight was only 10 minutes away. Yet he still had no idea of how to catch that van. Normally he would come up with an inventive solution, but situations requiring estimations of what seemed doubtful involved math and science. It seemed like those two subjects wouldn't be enough for the young teen tonight, so he would have to rely on something called chance-when a situation holds no logical pattern. It's also the one thing that irritates a scientist more than anything else.

Call him cheesy, but it was times like this that the Blue Shadow had wished that there was an instruction manual for rookie superheroes, something that would help him figure out how to stop that van en route, and how to interrogate a bad guy.

Stopping in the middle of the road, the Blue Shadow ran his hand through his wild blue locks while finally observing the environment around him. Maybe he could jump onto the van from the roof? He shook his head, deciding it was way to risky. The last thing he needed was to go splat on his first night as a vigilante. Or any night at all. Maybe he could bribe a police officer, ask them to block the road?

 _Of course not._  He thought to himself.  _What could you possibly have to make it worth their while?_

Suddenly, he was blinded by white lights and quickly jumped out of the way. The man driving the yellow taxicab stopped to yell at the kid while he ran into the alley.

The Blue Shadow kept running and running until he reached the next block, trying to catch his breath like a runner would after an intense race. He quickly checked to see that all of his body parts were still attached, before collapsing against the wall, feeling the adrenaline slowly ebbing away.

"Holy shit." He murmured to himself. "That car almost ran me over." But it was as if those words cast a spell on him. The Blue Shadow stood up in a trance, while his mind replayed the terrifyingly unexpected experience.

"That car almost ran me over." He looked out into the empty streets of Star City, and then to his gloved hands, which he stuck into the ground.

He finally had an idea.

* * *

Anatoly Knyazev was a patient man, albeit his dry sense of humor. Which meant he was open-minded to most possibilities that spawned from his surroundings. Especially when the driver yelled "Боже Мой!" and the van came to an abrupt stop, sending Anatoly and their Bratva security guard flying into the back of the van.

"Идиот!" The giant of a security guard yelled at the driver, who was frozen in his seat with fear.

"Why did you stop?" Anatoly walked up to the front of the vehicle. "What is the problem?"

The driver had become very still and cold sweat was starting to bead on his pale face. "There is a ghost. Right there." He pointed his quivering finger at the empty road that was drenched in the yellow glow of the headlights.

Anatoly scoffed, clapping the Bratva man's shoulder. "I see nothing, my friend. Now continue driving, we have pressing matters to attend to."

"But there was a boy with blue hair!" The driver insisted. "He came onto the road and then he disappeared! I swear, there's a ghost out here!"

"This is no time for spooky stories." The guard shot the driver a rageful glare. "Drive!"

* * *

Outside, the Blue Shadow cracked his knuckles while keeping his feet glued to the ground. He didn't even need to concentrate on keeping his emotions in check to maintain his invisibility; he was already scared out of his mind on what he was about to do. The van's speed didn't ease his nerves, but the Blue Shadow crouched as if to start a race on the track.

"No one said this was gonna be easy."

When he stopped speaking, time slowed down around him as his body went on autopilot. His feet pounded the concrete below as he ran towards the van.

At the last second, he jumped as high and as far as he could, his invisibility receding as he felt the familiar chill spreading from his back to every part of his body and meeting a floor as he performed a somersault when he entered the van.

* * *

The next thing he knew, he was already invisible between the two men that were waving their weapons to air. The Blue Shadow briefly wondered how he could have activated his invisibility already. He guessed it was probably due to quick thinking or his powers had become a new bodily reaction, similar to sweating when under extreme heat or crying either on reflex or because of emotions.

"Who are you?" The security guard waved his gun around. "Show yourself!"

"What have I said?" The driver pointed his finger accusingly at the other Russian men. "Ghost!"

"Just drive us to the docks!" Anatoly shouted, waving his gun. "Come out, do you realize whom you are dealing with?"

While the men tried to find their stowaway, a semi-automatic rifle seemed to float on its own out of the small weapons shelf on the wall.

"What is-" The Russian guard was butt-stroked with the end of the gun while Anatoly tried to find a target to shoot at. Before the guard could try to fight back at something he could not see, he was kicked in the groin before pepper spray was shot into his eyes.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Anatoly started firing his gun at every empty space. But the Blue Shadow was quick, so he became visible and suddenly, all the bullets stopped firing as the former Pakhan looked at the vigilante in disbelief.

"You are just a boy." Anatoly said to him just as the guard locked the young man in a chokehold.

"Yeah." The blue haired teenager wheezed. "But I'm the boy who's gonna beat your ass."

Suddenly, the boy literally fell through of the bigger man's arms onto the floor. Before any of the men could even register what had happened, the boy blew pepper spray into Anatoly's eyes and threw a knife hand onto Anatoly's throat and kneeing him in the groin. When Anatoly was down, he turned around just in time to block a punch from the other man and deliver a sidekick to his chest. Once the guard was thrown off, the Blue Shadow threw a powerful uppercut to the man's jaw.

Before he made his way to the driver, William pulled out his taser and stunned the guard with it. On his way, Anatoly made a reach to grab him, but his arms just simply passed through the young boy as he ran to the driver, who swore in Russian, grabbed the wheel and steered it off the road into an alley, where it made brutal contact with the brick wall.

* * *

 _Ow._ He blinked a few times, wincing at the pain on his head.  _That was_ not  _a smart idea._

He was a little disoriented at first but it took a few moments for him to realize that he was stuck halfway through the car's engine. He phased himself out, gathering his thoughts while checking head to find a spot of blood on his finger.

"Damn it." He muttered while gazing at the driver, who was wedged between his seat and the airbag.

"Shit!" The Blue Shadow checked for a pulse (which there was one) and checked in the back to find both of the other men lying on the floor, apparently knocked out.

While the Blue Shadow found a pulse in the burly guard, he pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

" _911, what's your emergency?_ " The operator on the other side of the phone immediately responded.

"I'm in the alley near the corner of 15th and Alberton." The Blue Shadow deepened his voice. "There's been a car accident and two men are injured."

" _Can you please tell me your name?_ "

"That doesn't matter." The Blue Shadow replied snippily into the phone. "Just send an ambulance here,  **now**."

Just as he hung up the phone, he spotted the somewhat crushed side door next to the driver wide open, and it became clear that the third man had already escaped.

Making his way toward the streets, it didn't take long for the Blue Shadow to find Anatoly with a phone in his hand and running into another alley.

"Oh no, you don't." The Blue Shadow growled, becoming invisible. He crept into the alley and snuck behind Diaz. He whispered, "Boo" into the man's ear and performed a sidekick to his ribs.

When Knyazev was knocked to the ground, the Blue Shadow held him up by his collar.

"Where's Diaz?"

The Russian's murky brown eyes stared into the teenager's light blue orbs, striking a sense of familiarity with him.

"Have I seen you before?" He asked, only to be dragged against the wall.

"Это у меня есть вопросы, а не у тебя." (I am the one with questions, not you. ) The Blue Shadow snarled at Anatoly in Russian. "Я буду спрашивать еще раз. Где Диаз?" (I will ask again. Where is Diaz?)

This mysterious blue-haired teenager certainly alarmed Anatoly. Though he was raised in the Bratva as a child, it had always been dishonorable for him to see one placed in a situation of kill or be killed. But yet, this child didn't seem to mind-he was too focused on his interrogation. Perhaps that was why Anatoly felt nostalgia from this encounter; he hadn't seen the boy, he'd seen a fire in him that also burned in an old friend he had recently forgiven-Oliver Queen.

That was why he needed to test him.

"What makes you think I will talk?" Anatoly asked bitterly. "You are merely a child."

"True." He whipped out his Taser. "But I know that in one of these, there are at least 50,000 volts of electricity. One kiss of this and you're immobile in less than two seconds. But that's only if you're not aiming for the brain."

The teenager's voice held no note of irony whatsoever. But even if he voiced the part, there was something about his character that just didn't suit his implications. Whether it was his age or the innocence that seemed to ooze off him, Anatoly was not certain. Nevertheless, he knew that the young man standing before him would not carry out his threat.

"You would not." Anatoly said resolutely. "You don't have the stomach."

The Blue Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Try me." He raised his Taser to Anatoly's temple. But he hesitated a few times, pulling back his arm. He was unsure of whether he wanted to actually go this far.

"What am I doing?" He thought aloud, unaware that Anatoly was still less than 3 feet away from him.

"You are new at this, no?" The Blue Shadow shot his head up.

"What?" He asked with confusion.

"I said, you are new at wearing the mask, no?" Anatoly asked with pity lacing his tone.

The Blue Shadow shook his head wildly, bringing the Taser closer to his head. "No distractions." He loosened his grip, but Anatoly didn't run. "But how can you tell?"

"It is that obvious, child." The older man replied calmly.

"I am not a child!" His whining was akin to a 4-year-old's temper tantrum.

Anatoly smiled a little at the boy's antics before he felt the weapon being pressed against his neck. "All right, all right, I'll talk."

The Blue Shadow paused, before lowering his weapon slowly, to indicate that he would be ready to act.

"You better not be pulling any bullshit on me." He warned.

"You will not get any, Prizrak." Anatoly brushed off some dust from his jacket. "But the truth is, I don't know where Diaz is or what he is planning. To sum it up, I want nothing to do with that man."

The Blue Shadow made a noise of agreement. "Understatement of the century."

"But," Anatoly raised a finger while he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a pen and paper. "I do know someone who knows him better than I do." He wrote down an address on the paper.

"Any chance you can tell me who this person is?" The Blue Shadow asked rhetorically.

"Here is a hint." Anatoly looked at the vigilante. "She is the mayor now."

It didn't take him long to figure out what he meant. He and Felicity still got the news even in their ARGUS safehouse.

"You can't be serious." The Blue Shadow drawled.

Anatoly raised an eyebrow at his interrogator. "Does my face say otherwise?"

The blue haired teenager shrugged. "Fine. But do you know where I can find her?"

"Yes, but FBI has taken root in Star City, so it might not be smart to barge into her office." Anatoly finished writing down the address. "Best to go here. "

The Blue Shadow took the paper and traced his gloved fingers all over it. "The Vanderbilt Building?"

"She lives there," Anatoly said curtly. "Had her do a small job for me as a favor, gave her protection money in the end, as per our bargain."

The Blue Shadow tucked the paper in his pockets before looking at the Russian man. "Uh," He rubbed his fingers together. "I believe this is where I say, "Спасибо и до свидания." (Thank you and goodbye.)

But just as he turned around, Anatoly walked up to him and placed his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"May I offer you some advice?" He asked considerately, getting a nod from the Blue Shadow. "First, work on your Russian; your accent is good but your pronunciation is a mess." The Blue Shadow had to bite his tongue to hold back a groan. But he couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "Second, and I do mean what I am saying: Do yourself a favor and go back home. Quit this 'hero business' while you can."

"What makes you think I'm giving up now?" The Blue Shadow asked daringly.

"I don't expect you to." said Anatoly. "But please, consider it."

The vigilante nodded before disappearing from the human eye, leaving Anatoly by himself in the alley.

"I'll be seeing you later, Prizrak." He called to the teenager, who was already out of the alley by then. But suddenly, Anatoly had to duck behind a dumpster because red and blue lights had filled the air around him. Luckily they didn't notice him and continued on their way to the scene of the car crash.

_And that is my cue to leave._

* * *

While remaining unseen, the Blue Shadow crept to the other alley, where the white van was being investigated and the two other men were being hauled into the ambulance. In the teenager's mind, they may have been part of a criminal organization, but they didn't deserve to die. It gave him a sense of great relief to know that the men he had attacked would be getting their injuries treated and that no one died. He wanted to be a crimefighter, not a killer. He was also immensely grateful at the moment that because of his invisibility, the cops couldn't see him.

But at that moment, The Blue Shadow had a horrible realization: He had forgotten to turn Anatoly over to the cops.

He ran back to the other alley and checked every square inch to find no sign of the Russian.

He dragged his hands down his face, groaning at what he had failed to do. He was both disappointed and embarrassed at himself.

 _All you had to do was knock him out._  Even his conscious was pissed at him.  _William Clayton, you are a Grade A idiot._

But at least he was a compassionate idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time in years I've written an action scene, so I hope it came out fine. And for those of you wondering, Prizrak means "ghost".


	15. The Boy with Blue Hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys, I'm in my first few weeks of college, All I know is that the next few weeks are going to be pretty hectic.
> 
> I am also dedicating this chapter to a friend of mine who helped me write the fight scene at the end. Laurel Vincent o Fanficiton.net, thank you for your helpful tips!
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

Director Lyla Michaels finished one document after another. The amount of paperwork presented tonight was something that the sharp veteran had become used to after all these years of working in ARGUS.

She was about to begin studying a transcript regarding an investigation of a criminal mastermind when the screen of her cell phone revealed the ID of one of her agents-specifically, one of the agents assigned to the sting operation on the Bratva.

"Tell me you have them in custody." Lyla immediately answered on the phone.

" _We will._ " Agent LeShawna Davis spoke. " _Once we get to Starling General to hand them over."_

"Wait, hold up." Lyla held her palm up and stood stiffly. "Why the hell are you moving on Starling General instead of Knyazev?"

" _Cause their van was hijacked en route. Apparently, there was a struggle before the vehicle crashed in a nearby alley._ "

"I see," said Lyla. "Where are the targets now?"

" _This is where the bad news comes in: 2 of them are being treated from injuries they sustained from this incident."_ Agent Davis replied diligently. " _Our main guy, Knyazev? He got away."_

"What?!" Lyla inhaled sharply before collecting herself. "Could you get to Starling General now?"

" _I'm on it._ " The sound of an engine starting could be heard on the other side of the phone. " _We should have them in our custody in the next minute. But the good news, Director Michaels, is that we have an identification of our unknown perp. In fact, the driver wouldn't shut up about him."_

"We have a name on our person?" Lyla asked.

" _No._." said Agent Davis.  _But at least we have a lead, which is where more bad news comes in; remember that teenage hoodlum we've been trying to find for the past 48 hours? The one with the blueberry head?_

The ethical director couldn't move. She usually was a woman who couldn't be surprised but now was one of such few times.

_You've gotta be kidding me._

* * *

The keys made a soft jingle as they pushed into the lock. Stepping into her small apartment, a young woman bumped into the wall, allowing her elbow to flip the light switch. With an audible grunt, she settled down the entire week's worth of groceries down on the kitchen counter as she pushed a loose strand of blonde hair away from her face.

Just as she was about to put the fresh milk into the fridge, she heard a slurping noise reverberate in the kitchen.

Her feet had already planted themselves into a defensive stance. "Who's there?" Empty silence was her only answer, but she opened the drawer behind her and pulled out a kitchen knife. "I know there's someone here!"

Tip-toeing around in her high heeled boots, she kept the knife concealed in the sleeve of her coffee colored overcoat. Even though the lights were on, she couldn't see anybody. But she knew to trust her instincts that there was someone else in the room with her; someone whom she didn't know or trust. Nonetheless, the woman was never keen on making friends. Even as the mayor, Laurel Lance had to watch her own back.

Suddenly, a silvery mist emerged from thin air and began to mold into the shape of a human being. As the form continued to solidify itself, color and texture became woven into lines and patterns of flesh, hair, and clothes. When the mist faded away, the speedy process was complete and in front of Laurel's eyes, was a teenage boy. He was slumped in the couch facing towards her and brought a glass away from his lips.

"Ah, that's the spot." said the teenager, wiping his mouth with one of his black gloves. "You know, if you went into the lemonade stand business, I'd say you'd make a fortune."

Laurel didn't know which was harder to believe; either that this kid literally appeared out of thin air or that the kid itself was just that. But she did take immediate note of his appearance. Donned in a familiar black leather jacket, the boy had the zipper up to its limit. Also dressed in black pants, black Converse sneakers, and a black domino mask, it seemed obvious to Laurel that he was up to something, even for teenagers themselves.

He also had a small belt with only a few weapons stored on it, which was something that she scoffed at, but dared not show it.

However, what had really caught her eye, was his messy, wild, blue hair. The rich primary color was obviously distinct, but it looked like a porcupine had slept in it. Even if it probably wasn't his real hair, Laurel wouldn't have been surprised to know that the kid probably would never bother to comb the disaster nesting on his head.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked. "How did you get in here?"

"Same way you did." The blue haired teenager shrugged his shoulders and stood up confidently. "Except I didn't use a key."

"So who are you?" Laurel asked questioningly. "A ghost?"

The teenager chuckled softly. "It's funny you say that, actually. But that's not why I'm here." He straightened his back, looking at her straight in the eye. "We have business to discuss, Ms. Lance. Meet me on the roof in 2 minutes, and come alone."

"What's it to you, kid?" Laurel asked. "I don't know you, and I don't want to know you. Now get out of my house before I call the cops."

"First of all, you can call me the Blue Shadow." He walked towards the door. "And second, I'm not some punk off the streets. All you have to do is show up and listen to what I have to offer."

"What could you possibly have to offer the mayor,  **vigilante**?" Laurel sneered at the young boy.

"The enemy of my enemy, is my friend." said the teenager. "And that enemy is Ricardo Diaz." Laurel's breath became hitched and she froze like a frightened deer in headlights.

'Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing.' was what she wanted to say, but instead, she found herself asking, "Where the hell did you hear that name?"

He completely ignored her question, taking a glance at his watch and said to her, "Rooftop, 1 minute and 30 seconds."

He turned away from her, his corporeal form becoming mist as it completely dissolved through the wooden door.

* * *

Lyla Michaels had been trained to adapt to the unexpected. She was friends with the fastest man alive, she had encountered mysterious people in mysterious places, solved cases that seemed the most complex. She had even seen magic happen right before her eyes.

But as she surveyed the scene of the accident, where the Russians had encountered their suspect, she felt unprepared, because in her entire career, she had never dealt with a suspect that caused both her rationality and emotions to engage in a bullfight with each other. As a former soldier and a government agent she had been trained to treat any suspect like any other criminal, but when she learned of the blue-haired teenager's approximate age, she couldn't help but feel genuinely worried for the young man. As a mother to a 4-year-old son, she felt obligated to protect any child that she knew who had come into harm's way.

But how could a child just 10 years older than her own, go out into Star City's underworld and put two men in the hospital? It seemed incomprehensible to the veteran.

"Lyla." Dinah walked toward her. "The guys are now being treated in ARGUS medbay for their injuries. One of them's got his nuts kicked multiple times, and the other's got a pretty bad concussion and a broken arm. But the good news is, they'll start singing within the next hour."

"Thanks Dinah." Lyla nodded. "We've contacted the FBI, they've got the whole city under surveillance. A few CCTV cameras had spotted him but we haven't been able to pinpoint his location."

"I'll give the kid props for evasive maneuvering." said Dinah. "But that doesn't explain how he got that intel about the sting operation as well as ARGUS' layouts."

"He seems to be pretty resourceful." Lyla mused.

"Exactly." Dinah replied. "Resourceful  **and** inexperienced."

Lyla gave the former detective a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

Dinah pulled out her phone and scrolled through a few pictures. "Exhibit A: ARGUS gets infiltrated and yet no one suspects it's happening, even when a security guard is knocked out. Even with his powers, and the security being shut down for only 7 and a half minutes, that amount of planning could have taken weeks or months, just to get a few articles of clothing. Bottom line, someone did their homework pretty damn well." She turned her phone off and stored it away in her pocket. "Now observe," She gestured the white van to Lyla. "Exhibit B, a hijack gone wrong. Somehow this kid knew about the sting operation you guys were gonna pull tonight and would have had to act quickly. At the very least, he planned to get inside the van, but after that, it was fight or flight for the kid."

"From what we know, it was at least three grown men against one adolescent." said Lyla. "Unfavorable odds in my book."

"Line starts behind me." said Dinah. "Now, here's where things start to get messy." She walked towards the hood of the van, where it was squashed like a bug on someone's shoe. "This kid had enough skill to fight two adults. So when he gets the chance, he runs towards the wheel while fighting the driver who was steering it the whole time. My guess on what happened next is that the kid was trying to stop the car, maybe pull over, but I think he just simply panicked. And we both know that there's a difference between screwing up and panicking."

Lyla nodded, while her trained eyes swarmed over every detail of the wreckage.

"So we're looking for an amateur." She finally concluded. "A talented amateur."

"Yeah." Dinah looked at her. "He's also an idiot, who doesn't seem to care about what he's dealing with."

When she looked at Lyla, she noticed her forlorn look. So she walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You're really concerned about this kid, aren't you?" Lyla only nodded in reply, while keeping her professionalism present to all who looked upon her. But it seemed Dinah was the only one who understood what she was thinking, despite her not having any children. "Is it because  **you** have a kid?"

"Yeah." Lyla's hands shifted in the pockets of her pants. "I know JJ's only a toddler, but I think of how old this kid must be and the first thing that comes to my mind is my baby. Dinah, that's someone else's baby out there."

"Part of you wants to help this kid don't you?" Dinah asked her. Lyla gave an affirmative nod. "Lyla, you're a fantastic mother and an awesome person in general. But for the sake of what's happening now," She gestured to the crime scene around her. "You can't afford to let your emotions compromise your focus. Star City has a loose cannon out in its streets, but don't make the same mistakes I made because you were distracted by someone you care about." Lyla gave her a questioning look. "Trust me, I'm pretty sure I've become a cautionary tale."

Lyla chuckled, snapping her focus back to where it needed to be. "You're right. What we need to do now, is try to figure out his next move."

"That's probably gonna be hard to do since we have no idea what he actually wants."

* * *

Behind an air ventilation shaft, The Blue Shadow waited patiently for the Earth-2 woman to appear. If he wasn't in disguise, he might have been nervous to meet the woman whose identity conflicted everyone who knew her doppelganger. He never officially met the Laurel Lance of this Earth, but he had seen her once-as the Black Canary.

The first time he was kidnapped, caused the Blue Shadow and his only parent then, to pack up and adopt entirely new lives, but it also gave the boy the opportunity to witness the heroes of Star City in action. On the night the Green Arrow and his team came to rescue him from Damien Darhk's sinister clutches, he saw Speedy, Spartan, a hero from Hub City (Was her name Vixen?), the Black Canary and the Green Arrow. He marveled at the unity amongst the team, how they all focused on defeating their foe with their incredible skill demonstrated in their combat alongside each other and against their enemies.

While he had only been a 10-year-old boy then, William felt that he couldn't sit by and do nothing while Darhk used his abilities to suffocate the Green Arrow and his teammates.

"Please! Don't hurt them!" It was all he could say. He didn't want the heroes to get hurt, but at the moment, he was stuck, unsure of what to do. But suddenly, it was as if something had taken Damien Darhk's power away from him, and that gave the Green Arrow enough time to start beating him up.

He didn't know it then, but that night, even when he reunited with his mother, was the only time he would feel the compassionate aura that emanated from Dinah Laurel Lance of Earth-1.

Of course, he had heard so many wonderful things about her from his father and stepmother. But with each passing story, he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to have met the woman who might have well been his Auntie Laurel.

"All right kid, I'll bite." Black Siren's voice shook the Blue Shadow back into focus. "What do you know of Ricardo Diaz?"

The teenager stood in front of her and began stroking his chin as if he was in deep thought.

"I was going to ask you the same question."

"Don't be cute with me, punk." Laurel warned sternly, pointing at him.

"I can't help it." the Blue Shadow smiled. "It's what I do. Well, aside from putting Diaz behind bars."

"Ok, hold up there, kiddo." Laurel placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know if you watch the news, but the Green Arrow has been in prison for 5 months and Diaz is God knows where, planning who knows what."

"Exactly." said the Blue Shadow. "But you were Diaz's partner, right? Which means you know him better than anyone else. You know how he works, where he goes. You probably even know his go-to coffee order."

"That's cute." Laurel fought a smile. "I thought I told you not to be cute."

"Have you not met teenagers before?" The Blue Shadow crossed his arms. "It's our job to not listen to adults! But getting back to the subject here, you worked with Diaz longer than Anatoly Knyazev, so you must have  **some** idea of where he is."

"What do you think we are?" Laurel asked bitterly. "Pen pals? I have no idea where he is. No one does."

"Bullshit." The Blue Shadow hissed angrily.

"I'm serious." Laurel snapped back. "The CIA, National Guard, Homeland Security and everybody else who had a social media account, has been trying to find the bastard. Even with the FBI all over the place, no one's been able to find a freaking clue."

The Blue Shadow groaned, rolling his eyes and brainstorming several contingencies at once.

"Even if I did tell you where he is," Laurel added on. "And by some God-given miracle, you run into him, what makes you think you're the one who's gonna catch him?"

"I'm glad you asked." He tugged the jacket he was wearing. "Recognize this?" Laurel nodded but didn't show her confusion as to how he could have possibly obtained it. "This baby, along with my gear, I stole from ARGUS just 2 nights ago."

Although she didn't show it, Black Siren couldn't decide if she wanted to be impressed or concerned after hearing his claim.

"Don't make me call the police on you, kid." She warned. "You're just screwing with things you know nothing about. So go home and I won't tell anyone about this."

"I can't." The Blue Shadow replied. "I don't have a home to go to."

Black Siren furrowed her eyebrows, looking at the blue-haired boy with skepticism. "What do you mean?"

William let out a melancholic sigh, deeply regretful of what he was about to say. "Ricardo Diaz enlisted my dad as well as my mom. My dad's a cop and my mom's a technician so they were useful in his book. They worked for him for a while, because Diaz had threatened to kill me. But it wasn't until after my dad finally had the courage to try to stop Diaz that his men broke into the house. I was at school but my mom called me and told me to run. I haven't seen my parents since that day."

"How did you escape?" Laurel asked.

"Like I said, I ran that day." He replied. "And I kept running and running. Luckily a friend of mind lives about an hour away and I ran into him, but I've had to change my name. When I heard that the Green Arrow was put behind bars instead of Diaz, I knew that the justice system had failed this city.  _ **It failed my family!**_ " He stopped to collect himself from his sudden emotional outburst. "That's why I've been training for months, so that I can find Diaz, and fix this whole damn mess!"

Black Siren was usually a woman of hidden emotion. Whether it was through her actions, her infamous scream, or her words, she always knew how to address and internalize it, for the sake of her survival. But now, her stone cold facade was replaced by a tidal wave of shock and outrage. But while she expressed those emotions through her speechless reaction, compassion and sympathy quickly overtook her, making her appear all the more human. Even so, she had to keep her mind where it was and diffuse the situation without causing too much damage.

"Kid," She spoke softly. "I understand why you're doing what you're doing. I get how it feels to lose a parent-"

"No." The Blue Shadow tightened his fist. "My parents are still out there, Diaz has them hostage. I know it."

"Just listen to me." She approached him slowly while ignoring the first droplets of rain bouncing on her head. "You're frustrated, sad and pissed with how the world works. I know exactly how that feels. But you're also way too young to be doing this. As Mayor, I can have the SWAT team drop in on us in seconds. But instead, I'm gonna give you one chance to just stop what you're doing and go home."

"Haven't you been paying attention?" The Blue Shadow hissed angrily. "I have no home. He is out there, and I'm going to find him. If you can't tell me where he is, I'll find someone who does."

Thunder exploded overhead, and by then, it was raining cats and dogs. But it did nothing to faze the two metahumans.

"I'm warning you."

"So am I." He pulled out a small black metallic rod and pressed a button, allowing it to extend into a handy bo staff. He twirled it a couple of times and took a fighting stance. His weapon in full display, he was ready for a showdown.

Laurel clenched her jaw. "Picking a fight with me? No newbie is that stupid."

His body immediately became layered with the ghostly mist that she saw earlier, and she heard footsteps approaching her. When she delivered a spinning crescent kick, the boy reappeared, but her leg went right through him. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Blue Shadow struck the woman with his staff.

"Thanks." He watched her get up and wipe the blood off her forehead. "But I've made up my mind."

Laurel growled, ripping off her overcoat. "All right. You wanna to play with the big kids, punk?

Suit yourself, cause we don't play fair."

To emphasize her point even further, she let out a Siren Scream, maintaining control of its effect as the teenager was thrown down just a few feet away from where she was standing.

He was disoriented, never having experienced so much noise and force at the same time. But he wasn't about to give up without a fight.

He ran towards her, picking up his weapon along the way and swung it at her only for her to block it and deliver a punch to his face, which he blocked against himself, just before jumping up to kick her in the ribs.

"You're good, kid." Black Siren and Blue Shadow began circling each other. "I'll give you that. But sadly, it doesn't change the fact that you're nothing but a pathetic little kid."

The Blue Shadow charged towards her, fueled by anger and throwing punches left and right. But the more experienced fighter was blocking them with ease and eventually, she pinned him down, holding his hands behind his back. He quickly phased through her and had already activated his taser when she grabbed it and thrust it in his stomach. Letting out a blood-curdling scream, the teenager tried to fight the pain of the electric currents stabbing his body. When it was finally over, he fell to his knees, riddled with exhaustion.

Before he snapped back into focus, he found himself in a chokehold, strong enough to hold him in place, but leaving him enough room for breathing.

"If you can't beat me," She spoke loudly in his ear. "How the hell are you gonna stand a chance against Diaz?"

The Blue Shadow kept his head perfectly still, while he reached inside one of the small pouches of his belt.

"Like this." He threw a smoke pellet he had just crushed directly in her face, with most of the smoke ending up in her eyes. When she released her grip on him, he made a run for it, and escaped through the door, not once looking back.

Alone, blinded, and drenched in the rain, Laurel rubbed her eyes slowly, and light poured in from the billboard in front of her advertising the Vanderbilt Building.

"That was just a lucky shot, kid." She muttered angrily. "Have fun getting your ass kicked out there."

She turned around to go back inside. As she did, however, her knees buckled, dropping onto the wet concrete. As lightning illuminated the sky above, Laurel realized to her horror that her mind hadn't played any tricks on her, that the person who had just challenged her to a fight was a child-whose innocence had been stolen from him, who assumed a responsibility that no child should ever bear. As Laurel acknowledged this, she also became horrifyingly aware that this child was on his way to embracing the darkness that plagued Star City. All because he wanted to save his family from a monster.

"Why did you have to be so young?"


	16. Secrets of the Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind that the names of the members of the Longbow Hunters I will use in this fic are the ones that are based on the characters that were announced in the upcoming season and this is probably going to be the only similarity they have to the characters portrayed in the show. They're definitely not going to be the same as how they were portrayed in the comics but I can promise that these twisted villains will send a shiver up your spine. I recently saw the promo featuring the Longbow Hunters and I'm not going to change their appearance in this story for creative purposes.

The Blue Shadow burst through the front door in a frenzy. He was so desperate to get out of there that he just took the stairs _._ He couldn't wait for the elevator to show up and it also helped that, there wasn't a lot of people who were awake to see a blue-haired vigilante run past their doors. His pounding heart was begging him to stop for only a second, but first, he had to find cover from the rain so he could take a look at his injuries.

Digging his heels into the ground, the Blue Shadow spun around, amidst the heavy downpour, and spotted an alley in front of him with a brick wall marking its end.

 _No problem._ The Blue Shadow raced towards the wall.  _I'll just zip through this wall and-_

**SLAM!**

The Blue Shadow felt the wet ground embrace his back; stars forming in front of him while an unpleasant throb settled in his nose.

"What the hell was that?" He clutched the part of his head where a noticeable bump was forming. "Something's not right." He took off one of his gloves and brushed his hand over the solid red brick. Taking a steady breath, he focused all of his wills into reaching for the other side, but he never felt the familiar icy chill emerge within him.

"Ok, this one will work. It's gotta." He said to himself while he shook his arms, to relieve the nerves building up.

He closed his eyes, allowing his mind to become free of all thoughts surrounding his possible injuries while awaiting the ants to start crawling up his body.

They never came.

 _Ok, William think. All of a sudden, your powers just stopped working. How does that even happen?_ Suddenly, he remembered that just because it was in the middle of the night, didn't mean that any random passerby couldn't see him, especially with his mask on.  _Screw it, you can figure it out once you get out of here._

* * *

On the train back to Morrisville, William thanked his lucky stars that after his "run" with the wall, he had been quick to replace his blue wig with a black one that he had purchased at the same time, or he would have been spotted by a camera in seconds. By then the adrenaline had worn off so he was now experiencing pain from his wrist, thigh, arms, and stomach. For most of the trip, however, he was tempted to at least try becoming invisible, but he was completely surrounded by potential witnesses who had cell phones, especially during the middle of the night. So he passed the time by trying to figure out a reason for his abilities' "malfunction".

 _It doesn't make sense._ He rubbed his thumb and forefingers together.  _Superpowers don't just stop working, do they?_

His mind flashed back to the fight with Black Siren, rubbing his thigh tenderly as he remembered the pain influenced by her hook kick.

 _I'm probably gonna need to get that checked out somehow._ He told himself.  _But during that fight, I was able to use my powers with no issues, so something from that fight must have broken them. But what?_

Hundreds of possibilities ran through his head, all ranging through the scientific field. Could it have been adrenaline or distress that caused this? Both theories weren't very likely since he was already pumped with adrenaline when he jumped into that van, and feeling fear was how he became invisible in the first place so the mystery continued for him. Could it have been his injuries? That was ruled out in less than a second when William suddenly remembered that he once had fractured his foot while he was practicing his sparring, and he was still able to walk through a wall. So perhaps, it could have been fatigue that caused his powers to short circuit.

 _Wait a minute._ William stiffened his posture.  _Short-circuiting...electricity!_

Suddenly, he was taken back to the moment when he tried to use his Taser on Laurel but she was too quick, so the next thing he knew was excruciating pain in his stomach. It was only on the train, that he remembered another feeling, stemming from the moment the electricity touched his skin; not only had he felt pain, but also a disturbing sense that someone had taken every single molecule that he was made of and used superglue to squash them together.

 _That's actually a distinct possibility._ William had read somewhere in Quantum Physics that in order for a solid object to pass through solid matter, the electrons holding the atoms together would have to disappear in order for two objects to completely pass through each other without leaving any particles of their own behind.

 _Could electricity actually enhance the bond holding my own superpowered atoms together?_ He asked himself.

As if he knew the answer already, he suddenly remembered that during his break-in at ARGUS, he couldn't phase into the Armory Room because he received a small shock from the door.

 _But that only lasted a couple of minutes._ William frowned, looking down at his palms (his gloves were in one of the pockets of the jacket).  _How long does a single hit from a Taser have on me?_

* * *

The lights flickered on and off under the dark shadows of the night. Small rats scurried from one place to the next, but such small critters didn't stop the three people inside from walking inside the place like they owned it, which was true in a way. When the Longbow Hunters acquired something of value to them, it was a cold day in hell before anyone would try to take it from them.

"Of all places to plan our next move, and she picks the abandoned warehouse," Kodiak said in his raspy demonic voice.

He was a monster of a man, standing at almost 7 feet in height, and had every handheld weapon known to mankind, strapped on the black accents that complimented his blood-red sleeveless suit. The disfiguring scars that coated every inch of his light skin, were simply reminders of his decades-old career as a one-man-army: unique, passionate, and without mercy. His calloused hands were the size of boulders, his left eye was nothing more than a bloody orb, while a long X stretched from the base of his skull to his lips. His hair was signed off and resting over his right eye, was an ocular device with a maroon-colored lens in the large circle covering the entire eye. The moonlight above shone on the metal mask covering the lower half of his face, making him appear only more beastly.

I see someone hasn't gotten over that silly little bet The woman next to him replied in sign language.

She was a dark skinned woman but because of the head-to-toe skin-tight black bodysuit that donned her entire figure, it was impossible to tell how old she really was. She carried no weapons in her arsenal, besides every limb on her body, from her opposable thumbs to her graceful feet. There was no wrinkle on her clothes, no tremor in her movement, and not even her breathing was a part of her that wasn't as swift as the sharpest of blades. There was a reason why they called her Silencer, she was unprecedented as lightning, untraceable like the darkness that surrounded her, and made no sound whatsoever when she would snuff out any sign of life within her midst. Those who hear any whisper of even her name, spend every night awake and praying that no matter where she is, she does not find and end them.

Kodiak gave a slight grunt. "You still remember that?"

"Children," A rich velvety voice echoed in the warehouse. "We have much to discuss."

The woman laid down a detailed map of the entire city on the dusty table. Under the moonlight, she looked peaceful and lethal all at the same time. Unlike her teammates, Red Dart wore a scarlet bodysuit with purple accents on her arms, legs, and stomach, which clung to her body, emphasizing her curves and toned muscle. It covered everything except her head, allowing her curly hair to flow past her shoulders. Charismatic and alluring, Red Dart could command the attention of an audience wherever she went and so she was the sharp leader of the Longbow Hunters; a sadistic seductress who finished the job without the slightest hint of remorse or compassion.

"We know what we came for." She said, trailing her finger across several buildings on a map. "The Green Arrow is in prison and the FBI is in over their heads as usual. All that needs to be focused on is ARGUS."

Kodiak grunted. "What if Robin Hood's friends show up?"

They could. Silencer replied. I wonder why it is they have not.

"It's a simple fact, my friend." Red Dart rolled up the map in a perfectly bound scroll. "They're too scared to betray their families." She scoffed. "Such a pathetic thing to rely on, family. But just because someone has disappeared doesn't mean that their job is done." She looked at them dead in the eyes and traced a paper thin knife over her thumb. "Regardless of his worthless comrades, the Green Arrow will not be a problem." She struck the knife into the table. "But after Star City, we will have barely begun.:

* * *

When William managed to sneak back into his room, he started to feel a cooling sensation spread all over his body. It was as if he had jumped into a refreshing lake after slugging through a hot summer afternoon. It spread from his head all the way to his feet.

After he closed the door, he fell on top of his bed, riddled with exhaustion and confusion. He wasn't sure what the cooling sensation meant but whatever it was, he was determined to find out.

Turning his lamp on, he took off one of his gloves and concentrated on making his finger disappear. When the mist consumed his flesh, he let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding for the past hour. Then just for a little fun, he concentrated on making every part of his hand visible except for the flesh covering the bone of his index finger.

It was both fascinating and mildly disturbing to see bones that weren't shown by an x-ray - or rather the machine at least.

Willing his finger to come back into complete visibility, he took off his costume and hid it in a secret compartment in his desk which he had built himself and took pride in it - using nothing but his bare hands and a screwdriver.

After checking that everything was hidden he went to the bathroom and saw that black and blue bruises were starting to take form on his face and body. Grabbing a carton of concealer, he grimaced at the monster zit he was probably going to have in a few hours, just from the amount of makeup he was applying on his face. But if no one became suspicious of his nightly activities, then a few pimples were probably worth it.

* * *

Perched on top of a building, Ricardo Diaz breathed in the city life. Part of him was happy that Oliver Queen was now in prison, but the Dragon inside him was angry that he didn't take control of the city. With all of its resources and multiple underground businesses, Star City was the richest of treasures he had ever laid his eyes on and he was willing to take it one way or another.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show." He spoke without turning around and facing Red Dart in all of her deadly glory.

"I aim to please my clients." She took a step forward. "As long as they remember their bargains with me."

"You'll get what's coming for you." Diaz kept his professional front. "Would the lady care to tell me what's going on downtown?"

"The FBI are still sticking their noses in all sorts of places." She said. " As far as I have learned, there have been no sign of any vigilantes. If there are, they're amateurs anyway."

"I don't give a damn of what they're capable of or who they are." Diaz snarled, breathing heavily through his nose. "If anyone stands in our way, man, woman, or child, find them and kill them." He stepped closer and bore his dark cold eyes right in her face. "Make it so not even the Longbow Hunters can find their bodies."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I know I haven't been active on here for a long time, but hang onto your seats, because next time, The Blue Shadow will go out on his first patrol!


	17. Intro to Superhero 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up, guys? I'm so sorry for being late but as a first-semester college student, I have been VERY busy. So this chapter will probably have to do for now until I get through the mountain of work I have to do, which will extend for the next few weeks or so. Until then, enjoy the latest chapter!
> 
> Oh and while this has dialogue from Inmate 4587, which by the way was an AMAZING EPISODE, the story itself is still an AU, so it won't follow season 7 entirely. It will have certain references to what we have seen here and there, but it won't follow the entire season directly.

CLANK! CLANK!

Oliver Queen rose like a zombie from the grave and faced the smug guard from the other side of the bars.

"Wake up, 4587." The guard said. "Beautiful day."

Oliver was tempted to scowl at the demeanor of this arrogant bastard in front of him, but he had learned the hard way, that the best way to survive prison was to keep your head down and keep your mouth shut.

Just as he was about to grab his book, the guard banged the metal bars again.

"Why the sad face, Queen? You've got a visitor today."

Before he knew it, Oliver Queen found himself behind a glass panel from his brother-in-arms, John Diggle.

"You've looked better," John remarked dryly.

"I've looked worse," Oliver replied. "How are William and Felicity?"

"Still safe in Witness Protection," John reported. "I have encrypted communications networks for them and William's homeschooling is going well. Raisa's gone back to her family, so we can tighten security on them."

"Has the FBI made any progress?" Oliver asked.

"No," said, John solemnly. "No, nothing. Watson said that she won't stop looking and neither will I. Oliver it's been 5 months, man. 5 months. Maybe we need to think about the possibility that Diaz is off the grid for good."

"I can't believe that." Oliver retorted firmly.

"Sometimes it can be so frustrating," said John. "Being out of control, I know it's not your strong suit."

"I'm focusing on what I can control," Oliver replied immediately.

"And what's that?" asked John.

A pregnant pause filled the air, building the tension in Oliver's next words. "Keeping my head down. Hopefully, shorten my sentence.

John nodded. "Smart. Sounds like a good plan. I worry about the toll it's gonna take on you Oliver."

"I survived Lian Yu," said Oliver. "Prison is something I can handle. Speaking of control, Felicity's told me that someone's broken into ARGUS and stole Laurel's jacket?"

"Oh yeah." John rubbed his temple. "Some teenager with blue hair apparently."

A small smile crept up to Oliver's face. "Kids these days, huh?"

"Curtis thinks that it was stolen so the kid can be a vigilante himself," John remarked. "If you ask me, this kid is either crazy or stupid. Picked one hell of a time to play hero."

"You know, in a world of metahumans, magic, and aliens, a teenager trying to wear a mask doesn't really surprise me too much," said Oliver. "I'm just concerned that he picked Star City of all places to start his career."

"At least it wasn't Gotham or Detroit," said John. "We're not really sure of what to do with him once we catch him."

"Try to see things from his perspective," Oliver advised calmly. "From what I understand, he's acting out from frustration and resentment. I can't guess where that could have possibly come from, but I will say this: When you find him, try to make him understand what he's done but talk to him as if he were  **your** son."

* * *

"You are most definitely your father's son," Raisa told William through the phone. "Treating the night as if it were another set of hours in the afternoon."

"Raisa, I'm just reading a book," William spoke through the phone. "It's not as if I'm getting high."

"Don't get my hopes up," Raisa replied sarcastically. "You should sleep, a growing boy needs his sleep."

The teenager laughed. "I'll get to it, don't worry. Right now I'm at the good part, where the vigilante is about to go on his first patrol in the city, cause he's trying to find a bad guy."

"What sort of book are you reading?" asked Raisa.

"It's actually a graphic novel," said William. "And yes, it's not too violent."  _I hope_. He added as a second thought.

Raisa chuckled on the other end of the line. "I miss you, Willam. You, Felicity and Mr. Oliver."

William nodded solemnly, feeling the growing ache of his nanny who had to leave ARGUS custody so that she could live a life far away from the craziness of their lives. It had been Lyla's idea so that Raisa couldn't be linked to being connected to the Green Arrow and his family and so she could protect her own children and grandchildren.

"До свидания." (Goodbye). He whispered into the phone.

"Мы встретимся снова, маленький." (We will meet again, little one) Raisa replied sadly into the phone before William hung up the phone, and then put on his wig.

Although he missed the woman whom he had grown so close to in just a year, the Blue Shadow had to maintain his focus on his first patrol.

Ricardo Diaz was out there somewhere. The Blue Shadow could feel it with every fiber of his being. All he had to do was wait for the golden opportunity.

* * *

"Ugh!" He let out a groan for the umpteenth time. It had been barely 10 minutes and he was bored out of his mind. He had been running in the streets, evading security cameras, but not a single crime was taking place. Not even a parking violation and the Blue Shadow had no idea what a parking violation was.

 _I could really use Felicity right about now._ He thought to himself.  _Or someone good with computers._

The Blue Shadow shuffled his feet alongside the asphalt once he turned invisible to avoid being seen by a passing car, but suddenly, he heard angry yelling coming from an alley - frustrated, desperate yelling.

"Sounds like trouble." He cracked his knuckles. "Not in my city."

He ran near the hollow space, whipped out his baton, and waited for only a couple of seconds, before jumping in front of the scene, ready to fight and yelled,

"FREEZE!"

There was only one person, a woman who was on a phone call with someone. She did not appear to be in any danger, in fact, despite her annoyed features, she looked to be perfectly fine.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" An angry male voice shouted through the phone.

"Why don't you leave the nice lady alone, douchebag?" The Blue Shadow couldn't stop himself, even when he realized what he had done.

Who's the kid?!" The man yelled on the other side of the phone.

"I'll call you back." The woman hung up the phone and crossed her arms. "What the hell are you doing here, kid?"

The Blue Shadow scratched the back of his neck. "I heard yelling, and I thought you needed saving?" He chuckled sheepishly and put his staff away.

The woman narrowed her eyes at him. She placed her phone in her purse and walked past him.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that, ma'am." The Blue Shadow started walking behind her. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? You know, take out the trash or something?"

The woman twirled around and marched up to him.

"Actually, yes, there is something you can do. One, mind your own business and two, get out of town while you can,  **freak**." Saliva splattered all over the boy's face with the last word.

She walked away, with her head still held in the air, and left the blue-haired teenager in the streets of Star City all alone. He walked into the dark alley, hoping that movement would help with the lump in his throat.

_Ok, now you're going to pretend that word didn't hurt._

A lone tear said otherwise.

* * *

Dinah Drake ran her fingernails over the criminal files, prowling over every detail she could find on the latest line of AK-7's in the black market. She was a woman who was ready to do the job whenever she got the chance. As police captain, she was more than ready to take that chance with the entire SCPD fighting alongside her for Star City.

"Yo D." A familiar face greeted her.

"Nice to see you Rene." She said. "What brings you here?"

"Gotta talk to you about something." He shuffled his hands in his pockets.

"Well I've got some policing to do and a city to protect, so I suggest you get to the point."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," said Rene. "This city. Since Oliver was put in prison, this city has gone to hell. I know the police are doing everything they can do, it's not leaving a dent, D. Last week, one of my students' families got robbed and he's from the Glades."

If looks could kill, Rene's body would have exploded into a bloody mess. "What are you saying, Rene?"

"It's my fault, D." He said. "I'm the one who ratted out Oliver to the FBI, and because of that, some kid in a blue wig is trying to play hero. If he gets himself killed out there, that's gonna be because I didn't man up when I should have."

Dinah gave a mean smile as she collected the paperwork she needed for an interrogation soon. "That's cute Rene, and I'm glad you're taking responsibility for your mistakes, but if you don't mind I'd like to get back to work -"

"This kid is doing what we should be doing." Rene began following her. "If you ask me, we should be helping this guy, not hunting him down. I have to know who this kid is, D. Especially with Diaz still out there."

Dinah turned around and crossed her arms. "Diaz has been gone for months and the FBI still has it's eye on us. So as much as I am concerned about the kid, and believe me, I am, we can't be worrying about someone we barely know. If Agent Watson even so much as suspects we know something that we shouldn't -"

"Our immunity goes  _adios_." Rene finished dejectedly, a full picture in his mind of his daughter.

"That's right." Dinah nodded. "That's why we have got to find this wannabe and shut him down. I'm surprised he hasn't even started yet."

"I wouldn't speak too soon." Rene got an eyebrow raise from his comrade as a reply. "Just saying."

"Don't get in over your head," said Dinah. "We all agreed; For better or for worse, we were not gonna go out as vigilantes, otherwise, what was Oliver's sacrifice for?"

"Look, Oliver asked  **us** to carry on," said Rene. Face it, this kid is out there, right now, and probably risking his life. He's messing with things he doesn't understand for whatever reason. That should be me, D. It should be us."

"Rene." Dinah placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I get that you feel responsible for what happened to Oliver, but that doesn't give you any reason to blame yourself for other people's choices. Whoever this kid is, why in the world he's doing what he's doing, those are his choices. From what I hear, he's old enough to realize what he's doing. What you need to do right now, is leave the catching of the criminals to the SCPD and focus on the most important kid in your life right now." She gestured to Zoe who was waiting for her dad to take her to their boxing class. She waved at the ex - vigilantes, who smiled and waved in return.

* * *

"Good work boys, that was easier than I thought it was gonna be." The man with the red bandana thought aloud. The rest of the gang were wearing white bandanas.

"This is so much easier now that the Green Arrow's out of our way." One of the gang members boasted, grabbing money from the ATM.

"Yeah, man." a woman laughed. "Good thing those masked assholes aren't around to bother us anymore."

"You sure about that?" A voice called out. All six gang members looked around the bank and pointed their guns at the voice. A chuckling sound echoed from the bank walls and all of the hairs of every member of the Tails Gang, found their backs stiffening like ice.

"Where are you?" A man shouted. "Come out you coward!"

"Oh, I'm already here." The voice called out. "Just follow the sound of my voice."

"Alright kid, we're not fucking around." The man with the red bandana shot his gun at a window, which only shattered the glass.

"What's the matter, can't shoot at what you can't see?"

THWACK

A man fell to the floor, completely unconscious, which was followed by a woman screaming out in pain from receiving an electrical shock. She dropped to the floor and a man was literally swept off his feet, straight to the floor.

A silvery mist began to materialize into a person, who then twirled his baton and knocked it at another member's head, sending him to the ground.

It only took a second before the remaining members of the gang got a look at their attacker: a young man with blue hair and black leather clothing.

He stopped to take a breath from his extensive use of his invisibility, before being knocked down by the man with the red bandana and felt several blows delivered to his stomach three to his ribs, and two to his ribs. When he threw a knifehand at the man's jaw, he caught it and twisted his entire wrist, the sound of cracking bones filling the bank as well as The Blue Shadow's screams, and it wasn't long before he found his windpipe under the foot of the larger man.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you picked the wrong night to wear a costume, punk." He pressed his boot harder on The Blue Shadow's throat. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

The Blue Shadow raised an eyebrow before rolling away from the man's hold, using his intangibility.

He wiped his mouth from the blood coating his lips. "Funny, I was just gonna ask you the same question. He took out his Taser and the gang's leader threw a punch at the boy, who in turn blocked it and thrust the weapon into the man's abdomen, before kicking him down.

The other two members of the gang threw punches and kicks, which did hurt The Blue Shadow, but he managed to deflect some of them before he phased through one of the men and somersaulted onto the floor and shot up to perform a back-kick to the man.

For the last remaining member, The Blue Shadow had a special treat: he called upon the mist to make himself invisible and silently tiptoed around the last member, who was waving his gun like a wild hunter.

 _I always wanted to do this_. The Blue Shadow concentrated on his head while putting an equal amount of focus into the rest of his body. After only mere seconds, only the Blue Shadow's face, mask, and wig were floating in mid-air.

With the smile of a maniac cemented on his features, he leaned in close enough to the member's ear, and whispered, "Boo." The last man jumped at first, but when he slowly turned around and saw the floating head, which had the smile of a maniac, his scream could have been mistaken for a woman's. Dropping his gun in fright, the gang member continued his high-pitched scream as he ran out into the bank screaming bloody murder for the whole world to hear.

Unfortunately, the Blue Shadow was too busy laughing at the moment to pay any attention to what was going on. He was fully visible, so it was easy for a Random Joe to see him struggling to keep himself together.

"Oh, man!" He continued laughing hysterically, wiping off tears from his eyes. "That was awesome!"

He took a few minutes to calm down before dragging the rest of the gang to the corner.

 _Now I know why push-ups are good for you._ He thought to himself as he dragged the gang's leader to the others.

He tried to wipe his hands but winced at the sharp pain in his wrist.

_Adrenaline must have worn off._

When he tried to move his wrist up and down, the pain seemed to only increase.

_I'm gonna need a damn good excuse for this._

"HANDS IN THE AIR!"

The Blue Shadow shielded his eyes from the blinding red and blue lights from the multiple cars outside as well as the blaring sirens.

_Although I probably could have gone without the dramatic entrance._

"SCPD, DROP YOUR WEAPONS! WE'VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED!"

Police swarmed the area, pointing their guns at the only standing person in the bank.

"No, you don't understand!" The Blue Shadow raised his hands. "I didn't rob the place, I stopped the actual robbers!"

"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! DROP YOUR WEAPONS, STEP OUT IN THE OPEN, AND SURRENDER!"

The Blue Shadow slowly put his hands behind his head as he yelled, "In case you're wondering, most of the actual bad guys are right here!" He pointed to the corner on the far right before taking a few steps back and disappearing in front of the eyes of the police.

"Go! Go! GO!" The police ran into the area, taking in every detail of the scene, eventually stumbling upon the pile of beaten and unconsious criminals.

"Clear!" The officers had returned from the back. "We checked the premises, no sign of him."

"We better catch him sooner or later." One of the officers cast a resentful glance at the vigilante's work. "It's bad enough those masked weirdos are doing our job for us again."

* * *

William sat quietly on the spotty red carpet, once he made sure no one found him for the hundredth time that night. He knew the police would try to find anyone that looked remotely similar to his costumed identity. So at the moment, he had to keep a low profile, at least until he made it back to the safehouse.

He had only spent at least 15 minutes in the abandoned theatre, the last place anyone would think to find a new vigilante on the streets. It also happened to be the very same theatre where he met Cayden James before he died the next day.

It made him smile just a bit when he remembered following his father to this place just months ago, as nothing but a scared little kid who didn't want to lose someone that he loved to yet another explosion.

Several months pass, and here he was, wearing a mask just like his father that night and clutching his wig with his gloved hands. In a way, things were beginning to fall into, what was it Cayden had said? Oh yes, a beautiful symmetry.

But he couldn't waste his time now. He had to get back to the safehouse without the police or ARGUS spotting him through CCTV cameras.

_Still, not bad for my first patrol, right?_


	18. The Dragon Comes Knocking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, while this has scenes and dialogue from Inmate 4587, the story is still an AU, so it won't follow season 7 entirely. It will have certain references to what we have seen here and there, but it will still be a fanfiction nonetheless.
> 
> Oh and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
> 
> Oh and you may or may not spot a certain reference to Mari McCabe's Vixen from her live action debut in season 4, so keep an eye out for it!

For all of two weeks, William would attend his homeschooling lessons with Felicity and continued to practice his Russian, but that only lasted during the day.

When darkness consumed the sky, and the moon glowed bright, The Blue Shadow emerged from the train station into the streets of Star City. He would find a few petty thieves as well as gangsters but very rarely, would he catch wind of Diaz's name, and that was his only lead.

True, he wasn't a cop or a hot-shot detective, but at least he was trying his best to find  **something** that would lead him to the man.

In William's perspective, it was much easier to read about something than to actually do it, which was probably why he excelled in school so much.

But he didn't have much choice. He had learned the hard and (slightly) painful way that being a vigilante wasn't something you could just study - you had to learn on the job or else you got your face bashed in, a particularly close call that gave William more than enough reasons to fear manhole covers.

While Felicity and the rest of the former vigilantes remained blissfully oblivious to the Blue Shadow's occasional nightly activities, an unexpected complication would put them to the test.

* * *

It was 6:27 AM when Felicity Smoak woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. As she went to the bathroom, she rubbed her eyes from the exhaustion pulling at her head.

She put on her glasses and headed outside into the kitchen and turned on the coffee pot, before jumping herself at the sound of a door slamming. A creeping dread spread all over her body, while she hoped that William had probably done it by accident. She turned around only to find a nightmare with soulless eyes standing in front of the closest exit near her.

"Hello, Felicity." Ricardo Diaz smiled pleasantly, which sent chills up the blonde's spine. "You're a hard woman to find."

Felicity backed away and pretended to trip on herself so she could get close enough to the panic button under the kitchen counter.

"Oh, I wouldn't." Diaz knelt down to her level. "Not unless... you want your boy to get hurt."

Felicity stood up immediately. "I swear to God if you hurt him-"

"You're gonna do what?" Diaz taunted. "You're gonna sic Oliver after me? Right now he's realizing how difficult prison life is."

"What the hell do you want?" Felicity almost whispered, not taking her eyes off of Diaz, even when she knew that William was watching everything.

Diaz smirked and pulled out a Glock. "Pretty simple actually." He loaded his firearm and pointed it at Felicity. "I want Oliver to spend the rest of his life in prison, knowing I killed his wife."

"Thank God, you monologue. RUN, NOW!" She grabbed the coffee pot and drenched the man in scalding brown liquid while William ran out of the room. She pushed Diaz with all of her might into the living room, near the fireplace and grabbed a fire poker. With all of the passionate fury she had kept inside, she pulverized Diaz with the fire poker over and over, never stopping to take a breath. It didn't matter that he wouldn't give up, because she certainly wouldn't. She was a mother on her most important mission, protecting the child she had cared for as her own and nothing would stop her.

Diaz managed to exchange a few blows until he found Felicity's fist meeting his nose, which gave him the perfect opportunity to grab her arm and flip her over his shoulder, sending her right into the table.

"You're gonna suffer for that." He snarled viciously.

Felicity spat out blood. "Go to hell."

Diaz smirked. "Already been there, sweetheart." He grabbed her shirt and threw her onto the floor. "Now, I'm gonna send you there, myself."

He felt something knock him to the floor, and when he got up again to see his attacker, he was surprised that was no one there - no one he could see at least.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Diaz bellowed at the top of his lungs. No one said anything; the atmosphere was too heavy to allow such a thing. "I KNOW YOU'RE HERE! FACE ME LIKE A MAN!"

"I got a better idea." Diaz was met with the brutality of a Taser's sting and knocked to the floor. Even Felicity couldn't believe what she was seeing: a ghostly mist coalescing into a corporeal form, whom she moderately recognized with the royal blue hair, thanks to the wild rumors she had heard about the kid standing in front of the man.

"How about I take you down like a teenager instead?"

Felicity had already pressed the panic button under the table, but she didn't know if she was feeling real panic for William and herself, or the blue haired vigilante in front of her.

Diaz began to chuckle, which then turned into giggles, and then it became complete laughter at the scowling teen.

"What's so funny?" He gripped his bo staff tighter.

It took Diaz a few seconds to regain his composure. "You, a scrawny little runt, is gonna try to fight  **me**? The Big Bad  **Dragon**?!"

The Blue Shadow cracked his knuckles and fought the doubt threatening to devour him.

He scoffed. "The Dragon, huh? You sure no one's called you The Chicken?"

Felicity audibly gasped; she didn't know what was more brazen, what he said or that he said it to the face of a dangerous psychopath. At that point, she couldn't decide if this kid was either insane or stupid.

 _Probably both._ Felicity winced as Diaz grabbed the Blue Shadow by his throat and lifted him up, but by then, he had literally slipped through his hands and then tried to sweep him to the floor but Diaz was too quick and grabbed the boy's leg. Before he could twist it, Felicity tackled him and began attacking him.

The Blue Shadow stepped in between and pulled Felicity off, as Diaz tried to attack her. The Blue Shadow whipped out his pepper spray and squirted more than enough in the man's eyes, then knocked him straight to the ground and he didn't move a muscle after that.

"You're coming with me." The Blue Shadow raised reached for his phone, but Felicity pulled him back and shoved him away. "What are you doing?"

"Who are you?" Felicity asked. "How do you know Diaz would be here?"

"Ms. Smoak, just calm down." The Blue Shadow approached her steadily.

"No, I want answers." Felicity retorted. "Where the hell is my son?"

"William?" The Blue Shadow asked. Felicity nodded. "He's fine. But I need to get Diaz."

"Until my friends get here, you're not going anywhere." She held her grip on the boy.

"Wait, ARGUS is coming?" The Blue Shadow asked.

"How do you know about ARGUS?" Felicity asked aggressively. "Matter of fact, how do you know me? Why are you doing this? Why are you after Diaz? Who sent you?  **Who are you**?"

William Clayton wanted nothing more than to tell her everything, but lying comes naturally to the Blue Shadow. William's emotions, were pushing him to open up about everything to Felicity Smoak, his stepmother who loved him, who did everything she could to ensure that he was safe and happy while his father rotted away in prison, who homeschooled him when he was singled out at Star City Middle as a pariah. She deserved to know.

But not today. The Blue Shadow had already decided that for William Clayton.

"Just call me the Blue Shadow." He declared. "As to who I really am, I can't explain. But rest assured, no one sent me, but I'm on your side, just trust me."

"How can I trust you if I don't really know you?" asked Felicity, stepping closer to the vigilante.

"You don't have to know me." He said. "Just let me do what I came here to do."

Felicity crossed her arms. "Now that you have Diaz, what do you plan to do with him?" The Blue Shadow was at a loss for words. He had never really thought about what he would do with Diaz, after he had him. Especially since he was embodying his other persona in front of his stepmother, who remained expectant of ARGUS' arrival at any moment.'

"I never actually thought about that." Felicity raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'That's what I thought.' The teenager was growing impatient. "Look, can you please get out of my way-"

When the Blue Shadow focused his attention on Ricardo Diaz, he was already gone and it was only a matter of seconds before ARGUS agents showed up.

He acted quickly, so he threw two smoke pellets, which activated the sprinklers all over the house and caused enough of a distraction so that the Blue Shadow could run into his room and shut the door without Felicity seeing him.

It was only ten minutes before the smoke cleared that Felicity stopped coughing to start looking for her stepson when she had a clear view of the house in front of her.

She walked towards the closet near the kitchen, which was the entrance to a secret room in case of emergencies. She had instilled a protocol that if anything were to happen while he was in the house, he was to remain in the safety room until further notice.

She opened the closet, unlocked the door with the password, which slid open horizontally, and found William sitting inside a room with only one light. He was safe and completely unharmed.

"Hey Will." She greeted warmly.

He looked up. "Felicity!" He climbed up the ladder and ran into her arms. "Are you ok? Where's Diaz?"

"He's gone." Felicity hugged him. "I'm alright, but what's important is that you're alright, that's all that matters now."

* * *

The Dragon was in full control of Ricardo Diaz as he literally beat the stuffing out of a punching bag - several punching bags at most in the span of two hours. But after the humiliation he suffered, who was in their right to tell him not to have rage at all? He had failed to kill the wife of the man he hated the most on this Earth, besides his childhood bully, and he had been the subject of mockery… at the hands of a child!

Diaz scoffed. A child, such a weakness in people. They were soft, squishy, and overly emotional. That was why he never settled for kids; they were too needy.

But this one? The punk with blue hair? Not only did he interfere with his payback, he also had the audacity to call him a chicken!

Diaz yelled as he punched another bag, which broke the chain and sent it flying into the wall. He was the Dragon, and no one messed with him. He brought down the Green Arrow, took over the Star City justice system and wiped out the Quadrant. He was a crime lord already, even when his reign was delayed thanks to Oliver Queen reaching out to that annoying FBI agent, which resulted in him going to prison and Diaz being a free man. So even in success, he won.

A frustrated yell escaped his lips as his mind briefly flashed back to the blue-haired kid's insult, then flashed right into the orphanage, where Jesse Frederico called him what he had fought his entire life to prove to the world that he was otherwise;

A  **loser**.

Breathing heavily, Ricardo Diaz pulled off his gloves and walked back to go upstairs when he came face to face, with the Longbow Hunters themselves.

"About time." He said loudly. "This had better be good news."

"The shipment is in." Red Dart stepped forward and handed Diaz a box.

Diaz smiled. Suddenly, he felt that he didn't need to worry about this 'Blue Shadow' he had encountered earlier. When it came to a man such as Ricardo Diaz, there was no room for runts like him.

In some packs, the runt gets eaten. And Diaz was more than happy to eat as many as he could.

* * *

"How is he?" Felicity asked Diggle, outside of a room where William was reading quietly.

"He's alright." said John. "He's been quiet most of the time."

Felicity shifted her weight. "Well, that's William for you. You know how much he tries to put on a good face."

"He's a tough little man alright." John and Felicity looked at the boy. "I'm just worried if this is what's best for him."

"John, Diaz almost killed me and William two hours ago." Felicity replied firmly. "He could have found that safety room. I cannot have my son in that kind of danger again."

"What about that vigilante kid?" John asked. "Heard he calls himself the Blue Shadow and word on the street is that Cisco is a little upset he didn't get to name him."

"What about him?" Felicity replied sharply.

"William told me that you told him that he saved you." said John. "That you kept asking him who he was."

"Oh, how much I open up to him." Felicity smiled at her stepson warmly. "I have to fight back, John, for my family, my husband's freedom, so that my son can actually have a father in his life. That's my main priority, no matter what. But when I looked at the kid who showed up out of the blue, no pun intended, there was something about him that just didn't add up."

"How do you mean?" John asked curiously.

"You said it yourself." Felicity replied. "He's what, 14? 15? There were a lot of things he knew that he shouldn't have known: How did he know Diaz would be there? How did he know my name? How did he even know  **William's** name?"

"It doesn't make sense to me either, Felicity." said John. "But are you sure that you're not trying to figure out who this kid is because he's around the same age as yours?"

"I never said I'm investigating who he is." said Felicity. "But when he was in that house, I wanted to find out so that I could wash away that feeling."

"What feeling?" asked John pointedly.

"That he's a vigilante, but he's not dangerous. At least not to me." said Felicity. "For some reason, I just can't explain why!" She paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "But whoever he is, he came after Diaz, and left without him. The asshole got away, which means my husband is gonna rot in prison longer!"

"Felicity, it's alright." said John. "Don't frustrate yourself" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lyla's had similar concerns. I've had them myself for quite a while." He hung his head and let out a sigh of contempt. "But we have to keep our objective within our sight. Diaz is still in the wind, which means we need to use every advantage we have to catch him. And right now, there's only one kid you need to focus on." He looked at William inside the room.

"Thanks Diggle." said Felicity, who rubbed her forehead. "God, I needed some sense. bitch slapped into me."

John smiled at her quirkiness. "Take as much time as you need with him. We'll keep you up to speed if anything catches our eye."

Felicity walked inside where William was reading  _Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief._

"That's a nice book." Felicity said to him.

"Yeah," He marked the page he was reading and placed it on the table near him. "I think it kind of speaks to me in a way."

"If you say so." said Felicity. "But William, we need to talk about what happened at the safehouse."

William shifted in his seat.  _Oh shit. Did Felicity already figure it out?_

"Ok." He said nonchalantly.

"What happened earlier today, in the safehouse, I could have lost you at any moment." She said to him. "The only thing on my mind was protecting you and making sure you were safe. And I will continue to do that, no matter what happens."

William's cobalt blue eyes darted back and forth in front of his stepmother's vision. "I don't understand."

"You have to go somewhere." Felicity decided to get straight to the point, something that William had always counted on, who had a sour look on his face. "You need to be in a place where Diaz can't find you ever again. You're leaving tomorrow."

"What about you?" William asked. "What will you do when I'm away?"

"I'm gonna take care of everything else." said Felicity. "Diaz may have escaped, but me, Lyla, Dinah, Diggle, Curtis, and Rene, we're all gonna work together to find this son of a bitch and bring him down so that we can get your dad out of prison. And as soon as we do, I'm gonna come get you and we'll move on from there. But until then, no one can know where you are, ok?"

William nodded and replied, "Ok."

There was a knocking at the door and they both looked up to see Curtis in a business suit, with his wild hair pulled back in a professional manner. Felicity nodded, telling him to come in.

"Felicity, I'm really sorry to interrupt this touching moment and that includes you too William." Curtis chuckled nervously. "But we're reprogramming the ARGUS satellite and we kind of need your help."

"Alright." said Felicity. "Stay here, ok?" She told the boy.

When she got up to leave however, William called out, "Wait." Both adults stopped and looked at the young teen. "Where am I going, exactly?"

"A boarding school." Felicity answered. "In Cambridge."

The location itself was enough to send fear coursing through William but he kept himself together and his poker face remained as strong as iron.

"Massachusetts or England?"

"Massachusetts." said Felicity. "It'll be in Cambridge, Massachusetts."

"Ok." William sat down. "Thank you."

When Felicity and Curtis left, William let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding for a long time. But as soon as he felt relief, a feeling of distress swept upon him like a tidal wave.

He only had at least 12 hours to work this out, which meant that he had to think of a way out and it would have to be a pretty solid plan to ensure that he could remain as close to Star City as possible without getting caught by Felicity or the others.

 _Great. Just perfect._ His thumb and forefinger began to rub against each other, but it wasn't enough to ease his nerves.  _Come on William, think! How can you possibly find Diaz if you're in a boarding school that is literally on the other side of the country?_

He continuously drummed his fingers on the glass table, racking his brain for anything that would help his current predicament. But after a pinch of time, a terrible idea befell upon him, an idea which evolved very slowly, into an elaborate plan.

William Clayton was about to take his first step in his biggest lie yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may be wondering, "Where's the hozen Felicity gives to William?" Well there are a couple of reasons for that: The hozen is a symbol of reconnection and there's a lot more redemption in this story than reconnection, so the hozen may or may not be a part of this. Also, there are no flashforwards in this story just yet, in fact they'll probably be at the very end but they will be entirely different than the ones we see in the show, but there will be a mention of the mysterious Mark of Four, and that is where I will stop rambling because I don't want to give out spoilers for my take on it.
> 
> Oh and you may or may not have noticed a little struggle of identities between William himself and his alter ego. That's actually going to be a highlight in the next couple of chapters. You see, in a way, The Blue Shadow is Killer Frost to William's Caitlin Snow, but instead of powers transforming him, it's a costume and that whole feature is still developing in the story. Plus it's a kiddie version of the whole psychological aspect of it, so while William is a polite and sincere honor student, The Blue Shadow is the resident troublemaking smartmouth.


	19. Playing by the Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up Arrowheads? I'm so sorry for this late update, but here it is, my take on 7x02! Keep in mind that while this may be set in season 7, I'm going to keep it as a fanfiction and have the whole thing center on William's journey, which means there will be no storyline consisting of Oliver's half-sister and Oliver will not be released from prison until the very end of the story. However, there will be certain characters of the past who will appear under interesting circumstances, and one of them is none other than Helena Bertinelli and that is all I have to say about it.
> 
> Oh and while this takes place during 7x02, the Longbow Hunters are so mysterious, even Former Team Arrow haven't detected them just yet. They will eventually, but there is no robbery of any valuable tech, so the Longbow Hunters have yet to actually be seen, and it won't be ARGUS who does.
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

* * *

Desperate times call for desperate measures and William Clayton proved exactly that when he had just printed out the letter to the headmaster of the boarding school he would be attending, so to speak.

He knew that he was probably committing a felony at the very least but as long as he had a convincing alibi, the headmaster wouldn't ask too many questions, which was the last thing he needed at the moment. He had narrowly escaped being discovered when Diaz came into the safehouse, and if anyone picked up the slightest hint of what he was doing, his mission would be nothing short of obliterated.

After folding the paper in a letter, he did a quick check in his computer and deleted every trace of the letter he had just forged, before heading out of the Diggle's study (he and Felicity were staying there for the night) and took out a blank sheet of paper. Picking up a pencil, he began to practice her signature over and over until he perfected every detail of his stepmother's classy handwriting.

* * *

"Little more." Felicity urged Curtis as he poured her glass of wine. "A little more."

"Do you want me to push the whole bottle?" Curtis asked with caution lacing his voice.

"Don't judge me!" Felicity wiped her forehead. "ARGUS is my designated driver tonight."

"Indeed they are." John placed a bottle of wine on the coffee table. "And every night, until we take Diaz off the board."

"This psycho's been MIA 5 months and then he goes after Oliver and Felicity," Rene added in, with John making a noise of agreement in the background. "Why now?"

"Whatever he's up to, now we know it's not personal," John said, walking to the other room where the others were gathering.

"Which is exactly why I put Laurel on protective detail," said Dinah. "She's gotta be high on his hit list."

"Not that I don't enjoy talking about all the ways Diaz can get to us," said Curtis. "But is there a way how  **we** can get to him?"

"Well, I've been working on that." Felicity pulled up a complex map on her tablet.

"The heck is that?" Rene asked hotly.

"I call it my digi-murder board," Felicity explained. "I mean I can probably work on the name, but it analyzes all of the data we've collected on Diaz, plus it searches for additional intel and then it makes predictive suggestions."

"So it's like a brain that only thinks about Ricardo Diaz." Curtis examined the digital board with intense focus. "Gross, but also cool."

"We don't have any leads on Diaz so far, but with this board, we can search for anything that'll get us an edge," said Felicity.

"Right." Dinah nodded. "I've also got the SCPD working in every corner of the city. As soon as any crime tied to this bastard comes up, we'll work from there."

"I'll try to help out however I can," said John. "But even ARGUS has superiors so catching this son of a bitch directly may be a little complicated."

"Which is why we've all got to work together, however we can." said Felicity. "So that Diaz can go down."

"There is someone else who might be able to help." Rene looked at Dinah knowingly.

"If you say, "Blue Shadow", I'm gonna punch you in the face." The cop retorted bluntly.

Rene shrugged. "Hey if we're pulling out all the stops, how come we can't ask this kid for help?"

"Because the Blue Shadow is an unknown variable," Felicity declared. "We don't know whose side he's on or how he knows about me and Diaz. Even if we wanted to seek him out, we can't take any risks with someone who puts the "Wild" in "Wild Card"."

"Hey!" Rene exclaimed loudly.

"Felicity's right," said Curtis. "We need to be focused on our objective. But now, let's toast: to friends reunited, to getting back home, and to bringing that son-of-a-bitch, Diaz, to justice."

"I'll drink to that." Felicity held her glass high.

"Here, here." said John.

"Cheers." Dinah and the others brought their glasses together.

* * *

"William?" He was being shaken by someone. He rose up steadily and wiped the sand away from his eyes. "Time to get up."

He nodded, yawning and looking at the time on the clock: 5:15 am.

"You can sleep on the plane," said Felicity. "But you have to get up so you can have some breakfast."

After getting ready and having some breakfast, William grabbed his suitcase, which secretly contained his clothes, suit, weapons, shoes, wig, and $500 in cash, from Felicity so that he could have some pocket money while he was in school because they trusted him to spend it wisely. William's backpack, on the other hand, contained his laptop, the letter he forged during the previous night, and some books to keep himself busy on the flight to Cambridge. He had even downloaded some movies for his flight back.

"You ready to go?" asked Lyla once William had finished his banana.

"Yeah." He said. "I'm ready."

"Let's go then." Felicity hugged him tightly. "I really wish I didn't have to do this William, but it's for your own safety."

"Yeah." He nodded. "I understand."

"Unfortunately, I can't come with you." She said. "It would draw too much attention even at the airport to have your father's wife with her son when they're supposed to be in hiding."

"You're still leaving me." William argued.

"I'm not leaving you." said Felicity. "I'm just placing you under the protection of your Uncle Diggle and Aunt Lyla. Aside from that, this whole arrangement with you going to Cambridge is only temporary, ok?"

It took him a few minutes to calm himself down before nodding and giving his stepmother another hug. "I'll miss you."

"I already miss you too, kiddo." She gave him a kiss on his head. "Your dad would be so proud of how brave you are."

"Yeah," said William. "I wish I could see him."

"Guys," said Lyla. "We have to go."

Giving each other one last hug, William let go of his stepmother's hand and went out the door with his Uncle Diggle.

* * *

Five hours later, William hopped out of the taxi and strolled inside Cambridge Preparatory School, with his large suitcase in tow.

When he stepped through the large glass doors, he was immediately awed at the scene displayed before him: a golden tiger statue in the very center of the entrance hall, balconies loomed over the floor beneath William's feet and multiple flashes of dark blue coats over pristine white shirts flooded the opulent room.

"Ok." He shuffled nervously, walking towards a nearby office.

"Hey, you." Someone tapped him. "Where's your suit?"

"Isn't it obvious?" William retorted.

"Ah, a newbie." The boy behind him smirked. "Stepping into unknown territory, aren't we?"

William laughed. "You don't even know the half of it."

"Yeah, well, new guys go to the main office, up the stairs, first door on the right." The guy's friend nodded at William.

"Thanks." William walked upstairs, but he wasn't stupid to take the turns the boys had told him to go. He had learned enough from his first day in Star City Middle to know that he was being set up for a sick joke reserved for new kids, who were losers by default in any school.

"Excuse me." He asked a janitor who emerged from the boy's bathroom.

"Oh, hey sonny." The elderly man set down his mop. "You looking for something?"

"Actually, yes," William replied. "I'm looking for the main office."

"It's downstairs, two lefts, and it's the door at the end of the hall." The janitor pointed in the direction of the staircase.

"Thank you." William shuffled his belongings and headed right down to the main office, where he would get the information to live at this school as a resident student.

When he found it, it was very easy to find the headmaster's office, who was kind-hearted and welcoming to the boy.

* * *

"We're very impressed with your records, Jason," said Headmaster Johnson, once William sat down and introduced himself as Jason Green. "We're also pleased to have you here. If there is anything we can do to help ease your transition, please let us know."

"Well I would like to get to my dorm room to unpack first," said William, already going with the new identity that Lyla had given him through Witness Protection.

"Your key and all of your Resident Hall information are right outside," said Headmaster Johnson. "But remember, if you need any help adjusting, my office is always open."

"I'll keep that in mind," said William.

"That's what I want to hear." said the Headmaster. "Now you better get unpacking, because lunch starts in an hour and trust me, you want to be first in those lunch lines."

William chuckled, grabbing his bags and the packet of information containing the student handbook, Resident Life information, rules and regulations of dorm life, meal plans, student life, activities on campus, etc cetra.

So far, his plan was working; he had gotten into the boarding school, away from the prying eyes of the former members of Team Arrow, and he only had hours to establish his alibi before he made his next move.

* * *

While William waited to move further with his plan, Laurel Lance was making haste towards her office while examining a case from the open file she was carrying. Already a little behind her schedule, Laurel made every second count as she worked diligently to use her position as a District Attorney as more than a cover.

"Laurel, we need to talk." An all too familiar voice sprung out of nowhere.

"If this is about the Conway case, I already told Anastes I need more time." the Earth-2 metahuman didn't bother to look at the woman who was already at her side.

"That is not why I am here, and you know it." Dinah retorted sharply.

"Aww, did you miss me?" Laurel asked sarcastically. "I'm touched."

However, Dinah wasn't in the mood to put up with a condescending attitude like Black Siren's. "Laurel, you ditched your protective detail,  **again**."

Laurel looked up from her case file. "Perhaps you should get your facts straight, Captain. Your officers had a medical emergency. Food poisoning, I think it was? It seems to be going around Star City, doesn't it?"

"Food poisoning does not cause hearing loss or vertigo." Dinah clarified as they entered Laurel's office. "You know what does? A sonic wave. And I should know - I also create them."

"Ooh, that sounds serious." Laurel sat behind her desk, feigning shock.

"This isn't a joke, Laurel." said Dinah. "You know, Diaz attacked Felicity and her step-son yesterday."

Laurel paused, eyes trailing over her notes, before smiling at Dinah. "Not my problem."

"You do know that means he could be as close to Star City as I am to your very presence." said Dinah. "And if I were you, I'd wake up and realize that your life could be in danger."

"I thought you didn't give a crap about me." Laurel replied with her lip curled upward.

"I don't," said Dinah, earning a questioning look from the woman sitting across from her. "I may not like you, but I do respect you as DA. Which means you're going to let my officers do their job whether you like it or not."

"What happened to the woman who wanted to kill me for killing her precious Vince?" Laurel asked only to provoke rage in Dinah's eyes.

"I'm still trying to put that behind us." said Dinah, grabbing the chair so she wouldn't punch the woman for mentioning her lover. "It's still taking everything I have, so please don't bring him up. But now I realize that there are things that are a lot bigger than our history. So you can keep doing your job but you can also feel a lot safer with the SCPD protecting you, and if I have to sit in your office like your damn bodyguard, so be it."

Laurel didn't move, she wasn't sure what to make of the somewhat reformed woman. It seemed only a season ago, that she was out for blood - Black Siren's blood - and was willing to do anything to shed it. Dinah was passionate in everything that she did, which included avenging her loved ones, and it was only then that Laurel realized that if she could clean up her act by becoming District Attorney, then who was she to judge that Dinah hadn't done the same?

Even so, Laurel could not make attachments with anyone; they always left her or turned up dead. She had learned that lesson a long time ago and was reminded of it when Diaz murdered the doppelganger of her late father. "Ok, fine. Whatever, suit yourself. In the meantime, make yourself useful and go get me a coffee, two sugars, no cream."

Dinah drummed her nails against the desk in a critical manner. "Honestly, what is it going to take for you to listen?"

Laurel looked up from her desk. "When I have someone other than myself, to look after."

* * *

By noon that day, Oliver Queen walked down the cafeteria to the top three criminals of the Slabside's hierarchy. Of course, the guards were a different story and technically had more power than all the prisoners combined, but if anybody had information on where Ricardo Diaz was, Oliver was sure that they did.

"Yo, Oliver." His recent sidekick tugged his arm. "What's going on?"

Oliver turned to the shorter man who had recently become his only companion in the supermax prison. "I'm gonna find out where Ricardo Diaz is, and those guys are my best shot of getting some intel."

"What makes you think they'll talk?" Stan asked curiously.

"Better than the alternative" Oliver replied bitterly.

"Sitting around and doing nothing, huh?" Stan seemed to know what Oliver was thinking, as he too felt like a caged animal, ready to pounce at his prey however he could. "No offense GA, but I know these guys better than you, so whatever you ask of them  **never** comes cheap."

"Sounds like a bad experience you once had." Oliver quipped.

"Here in the Slab, you learn things the hard way." Stan brushed against a scar hidden behind his shirt.

"Stay out of sight." Oliver warned him before making his way to Brick, Bronze Tiger, and Derek Sampson.

"Ricardo Diaz.' Oliver demanded immediately to Brick.

"This seat's taken." The large man replied lazily, but Oliver grabbed his arm in response.

"You're gonna tell me where to find him."

"Hey." Bronze Tiger piped up. "You sure you wanna do that? I still haven't gotten a chance to thank you for sending me to the hole."

"Guess you don't know your place here." Derek Sampson sneered at him as Bronze Tiger rose to fight the archer. "You may hae gotten your fight back, but we're still at the top of this food chain."

"Easy, boys." Brick gestured for them to sit down. "I got this." He shook his head. "Diaz, don't ring any bells."

Oliver sat down. "You hired those prisoners to attack me in the shower, for Diaz. So why don't you tell me where I can find him?"

"You know what your problem is, Queen?" Brick asked irritably. "You've forgotten where you are, this is prison. And you're playing by the wrong rules."

"I'm not in any mood for games, Brick." Oliver replied immediately.

"All I'm saying is, if you wanna be a mate of mine, you gotta prove yourself worthy of my friendship." Brick said with contempt.

Oliver took a moment to consider his options, which he didn't have many, and finally asked, "What do you want?"

Brick looked back at where Officer Yorke was standing guard, watching over the entire cafeteria with a hawk-like presence. "I want him gone."

"Why?" Oliver asked.

"That is no concern of yours." Brick said. "You just take care of that guard and I'll tell you anything you wanna know. Everybody wins."

Oliver ran through his options in his head one more time, before deciding that if he wanted to keep his family safe, he would do what had to be done.

"Fine." But just as he got up, Brick grabbed his arm.

"If you say anything to anyone, the deal is off." Just when he finally stood up he heard Brick call his name.

"I'd tell your friend back there to watch his own back more often." He warned. "In the real world, when you pit the big man against a little guy, who do you think is going to win?"

* * *

Felicity typed away angrily on her keyboard, her fingers racing at a million miles per second to try to work through the encryption keys in the ARGUS satellite.

"Are you hacking ARGUS from inside ARGUS?" Curtis walked in with a small bag.

"I was going to do that but then I realized that their satellite could have used a little upgrade so I decided to make use of my time when I'm not included in the briefings." She finished her sentence while looking at Curtis in a scornful manner.

"I told you, I don't have enough security clearance to even listen to those briefings," Curtis replied. "But I do come bearing gifts."

Felicity's head snapped up and he had to catch her glasses from flying over her head."You found a lead on Ricardo Diaz?"

"Better." Curtis smiled and held up the bag. "Snacks!"

Felicity shook her head at her friend's kind gesture. "I appreciate what you're doing, but there's nothing in the world that can take my mind off Ricardo Diaz."

A phone buzzed nearby and Felicity reached for her device and found her step-son's picture on the caller ID.

"I will take this as my cue to leave." said Curtis.

"No, stay." said Felicity. "I'm sure he just wants to say hi." She answered the phone. "Hey William."

" _Is this a bad time?_ " The teenager's voice resonated through the phone's speaker.

"Actually you called at a pretty good time." said Curtis. "I was just telling Felicity to take a break and to have some snacks." Felicity gave him an annoyed look.

" _I'm cool with that._ " said William. " _I miss you Curtis, but can I have a minute to talk to Felicity?_ "

Curtis nodded and said, "Stay safe, William." He exited the room, giving the two people on the call, some well-needed privacy.

"What's up, Will?" Felicity asked.

" _Felicity, I've been thinking_." Felicity leaned in closer in an effort to hear her step-son's voice correctly, and he sounded pretty serious.

"Ok." She replied honestly. "What's going on?"

" _I think it's time I told the truth._ " said William. " _I admit, I'm still a little mad you sent me away on the other side of the country. But I've realized you gave me a great opportunity to discover who I am, but the truth is, I'm not sure of that yet._ "

Felicity nodded, a little unsure of her step-son's words. "Ok, what is it you're trying to say?"

" _I need time to discover myself._ " William answered. " _I need to know who I am and what I want to do with my life._   _And I need the space to do that, so I don't think I'm gonna reach out to you for quite some time. That means no phone calls, no emails, no letters, no form of communication whatsoever."_

"I don't understand." Felicity replied quickly. "I need to be able to reach out to you in case something happens."

" _What I'm really trying to say Felicity, is that I just need some space._ " William answered calmly, to not upset his step-mother even further. " _Just until I have some idea of the person I want to be. Can you trust me to have some space away from this whole Ricardo Diaz situation so that I can reach out to you when I'm ready or if I really need to talk to someone?"_

Felicity paused, unsure of what to say. William was always smarter beyond his years, even when she first tutored him for his math test back in Star City. She had watched him grow in just a year, and even though he wasn't biologically hers, she could not have been more proud of her boy. He was young and had much to learn about the world.

But she was also scared for him and did find it a bit unusual that he requested a period of time with no communication when she knew what kind of person William was: the kind who needed to connect to people he trusted. He was the type of teenager even, to be emotionally dependent and could not go a day without telling someone he loved about his day in school. He needed his family as much as he needed his friends, and losing his mother almost two years ago, had fueled that need, which was why he was closer to Raisa more than his father when he first came to live with him.

Still, she understood William; remembering what it was like to be a teenager and wanting the space to spread your wings. She wasn't surprised that he decided that he had entered the part of his life where he needed to explore his potential and interests. She was, however, surprised that he had entered it so soon. Then again, William was always in the fast lane for his peer group.

"Alright." Felicity let out a breath she realized she hadn't been holding. "I understand, and I will allow you to have as much space as you want."

" _Thank you_." She could practically hear William's shoulders loosening up on the other side of the phone. " _This really means a lot to me_."

"But." She stood up. "If I hear anything, and I mean anything on you or your father I'm gonna call you and you're going to answer, understand?"

" _I understand_ ," William replied.

Before she hung up, Felicity said into the phone, "Oh and Will?" A pregnant pause hung in the air. "Good luck."

" _Love you._ "

* * *

William hung up the phone and sat on his bed. He was thankful that his dorm room was empty today and that new students were given a day to explore the campus before going to class the next because he was careful not to make himself noticeable appearance-wise, and from anything he said. So he spent the entire day in his dorm and never came out.

He glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 3:15 and he hadn't eaten for quite some time, coming right on cue with a growling stomach.  _Might as well get some lunch._ He stood up and brushed his shirt.  _Then find some way_ _to get rid of this tightening feeling in my gut._

 _It's called anxiety, you moron._ The Blue Shadow snapped back.  _I mean, come on, you know you'll see Felicity again, so what's the worry?_

 _Yeah, I'll see her._ William thought to himself.  _But n_ _ot as William Clayton or the Blue Shadow. Matter of fact, w_ _hat if I never see her or Dad again at all? Is it all really worth the risk?_

 _You **will**  see them again, as soon as you get Diaz. _said the Blue Shadow.  _Once you do that, you'll have your whole family again, isn't that what you wanted?_

 _I don't know._ William argued with himself.  _Maybe, but not like this! I thought I would never have a family again when Mom died, but after I opened up to Dad, I never want to lose it again._

 _So, what do you want now?_ asked the Blue Shadow.

William rubbed his forehead and released an aggravated sigh. I _just want to go back to being a normal kid!_

_Which will never happen, as long as you have powers and Oliver Queen's DNA. So suck it up and get over it. And i_ _f I were you, I'd hurry up and get some food, cause, you've gotta beat traffic before you can get to the airport._


	20. The Vanishing Airport Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope everyone is having the happiest of holidays! Is anyone excited for the new year, cause I am!

* * *

Oliver sat quietly in his cell, looking between the knife Bronze Tiger gave him and the photo of his wife and son. He was not the Hood, the Arrow, or the Green Arrow - he was Inmate 4587 and right now he had very limited power in stopping Ricardo Diaz. It was even more unsettling to him of what he would have to do in order to be able to obtain information on his enemy:

Get rid of Officer Yorke, who seemed to be on top of everyone's list of people that they wanted dead.

He and his "partner", Stan had gotten access to any and all information on the guard only to find absolutely nothing that would incriminate him as a sleazy crook. He himself had said that Yorke may have been a jerk, but he was a law-abiding jerk.

Oliver had done everything he could to avoid having to actually kill the guard, including warning him. Unfortunately, his pleas fell on deaf ears and the offer was about to expire soon, which meant that Oliver had to find some way to get Yorke out of the Slab or Diaz would continue to walk as a free man. That's what he would have done as the Green Arrow.

 _Except I'm not the Green Arrow anymore._ Oliver carefully placed the photo in his book and concealed the knife in one of his sleeves.  _I'm Inmate 4587, and Brick's right. This is prison, and I gotta do this their way._

He suddenly found himself remembering William's words - "I understand why you have to go out there."

He smiled, remembering his son's maturity and how it never failed to surprise him and his friends.

_I wonder what he's doing right now._

* * *

He placed his laptop and phone inside the mattress and carefully stitched it back up, using a needle and white thread he stole from one of the life skills classrooms, where they taught cooking and sewing to the students. After his successful heist at ARGUS, he felt more confident about stealing things, but he never did too much, and when he did, he had to constantly remind himself that he had to keep it together and not let his building confidence get to his head.

"Alright Felicity," William said quietly as he patted the mattress once he finished the last knot on the mattress. "Enjoy tracking these devices now." He smiled at his handiwork.  _Note to self, get Raisa a gift for teaching me how to sew._

He glanced at the clock.

4:00 P.M.

Now was the time to take care of some business with the school.

* * *

Headmaster Johnson had just finished his call with one of the faculty members. Apparently, a water pipe had burst and now it was up to him to send a notification through the school's email to the students. He certainly did not want a repeat of the incident in the girls bathroom that remained infamous even after one year.

He checked the clock, 4:10 PM. Only 50 minutes until he was ready to go back home. In the meantime, nothing could surprise him.

His phone rang, and he knew that it was his secretary calling him.

"Yes?" He answered immediately.

" _Don, Jason Green is here._ " She told him. " _But he's got his luggage and everything._ "

Alarm bells rang in his head - students usually didn't leave the school when they had just arrived.

"What, is he planning to leave?" He asked suspiciously.

" _He didn't say._ " She said. " _But it looks like it. He's asked to see you and only you._ "

The middle-aged man rubbed his temple, expecting all sorts of excuses from a student as random as Jason. Normally he wouldn't judge his students so quickly, but there was something about this case that didn't sit right with him. Whatever it was, he was the Headmaster of Cambridge Prep and he would surely get to the bottom of it.

Alas, the well-rounded teacher couldn't have possibly known who he was really dealing with.

"Send him in." He hung up the phone and saved his work on his computer, just as the brunette teenager came in with his suitcase rolling behind him. He wasn't wearing his school uniform, but a black sweatshirt, blue jeans and sneakers. He had his backpack slung over his shoulder, but the Headmaster doubted that it was filled with school supplies.

"Jason?" He asked. "I must say this is a surprise. It's only been six hours since you came here. Is there something wrong?"

The boy sat down, planting his suitcase at his side. He never loosened his grip on it. "Headmaster, I need to leave."

He was taken aback by the teenager's serious tone. Aside from the calm and collected character he presented himself as, "Jason" did not appear to be homesick at all.

"Jason, I understand that going to a new school can be emotionally straining but I see no reason why you need to go back home." the Headmaster said firmly.

"I'm not going back home." William pulled out "Felicity's letter. "I'm going back into Witness Protection."

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow even as William placed the letter in the older man's dark skinned hand and waited for him to read it. As he did, his confusion surrounding the boy only deepened.

"Jason, there's something I'm not getting." He said. "It says here that your mother plans to homeschool you on the same day you came to this school?"

William nodded. "Effective immediately."

He folded the letter and put it away. "That's what I don't understand. Why would she send you all this way only to pull you back?" He eyed the boy suspiciously. "How did you even get this letter?" He was met with silence. "Did she even write it? Because you know that forgery is a criminal offense."

"I got this through my email." William lied. "I printed it from the library after I found out that my mom was attacked by a dangerous man."

Headmaster Johnson leaned in closer. "Your mother was attacked? Do I need to call the police?"

"No, just let me explain." William replied quickly. "My family is being hunted by a dangerous man. In fact it's been going on for almost a year. By separating from me, my mom thought I would be safe while she went into hiding, but now that she was found, I could be next and he may come here, to this school. I can't let that happen so I have to go back to Star City tonight."

Out of genuine concern for the young man, the Headmaster wanted to believe what he was saying, but his years of dealing with kids who would do or say anything to get out of school, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I understand that you're concerned about your family, but I do not tolerate any sort of -"

"My father is Oliver Queen."

Time came to a sudden halt; everything stopped moving and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Come again?" The Headmaster found himself asking the young man. Out of all the excuses that could have possibly been thrown into the open, this was one he never saw coming.

"My real name is William Clayton." He said. "Me and my stepmother went into Witness Protection after my father went to prison. We thought that we were safe, but there is a man who has got an army after my family and will do anything to kill them to make my father suffer, which includes coming after me."

People say, "The truth will set you free", but in these circumstances, William felt like a prisoner, trapped in a cold metal cell with little light and no possible escape.

"Have you ever heard of the bad guys that heroes like the Flash would defeat? Have you heard of the bad guys that the Green Arrow would defeat?" The Headmaster nodded. "Well this guy, is a bazillion times worse than those guys. He will take out anyone who gets in his way, even if he has to take out the people surrounding them. I'm pretty sure he won't exercise restraint even on children. He will wipe out this entire school if it means he'll get to  **me**. As long as I am here, your students are in danger."

Headmaster Johnson nodded quietly, his gaze somber at the boy and the letter he gave him.

"I really think we should call the police if you're in that much danger."

"No." said William. "Witness Protection is going to protect me. I just need to go back to the airport, and there's a taxi coming to pick me up."

"So why are you here?" The Headmaster asked. "Why not just leave?"

"Because I need to make sure that my presence remains confidential." He replied. "As long as Diaz doesn't know that I've been here, he won't have any reason to come here. As far as even so much as another student knows, I was never here."

The Headmaster thought about William's explanation, which seemed too unbelievable, as the fact that he was the Green Arrow's son. But he cared about children, no matter who their parents were, and did not want to see them in danger. If this was the best way to keep all parties safe, then he would have to allow the young man to leave.

He wouldn't necessarily expel him but he could make it appear as if his stepmother pulled him out for homeschooling, keeping true to what the letter said.

"When is this taxi coming?" He asked worriedly.

William checked his phone and found a text from his taxi driver that he would be arriving in five minutes. "In a few minutes." He replied. "Sir, I really appreciate you welcoming me into this school, but…"

"I understand." The Headmaster put the letter away in his filing cabinet. "And there's no need to apologize. I'm glad you came here and told me anyway."

"Why?" asked William.

"Life is unexpected in many ways." He replied. "Sometimes things happen and you don't see them coming."

William chuckled. "You'd be surprised."

A chime rang in the office, and William looked at his phone before declaring, "It's time."

He stood up, with his backpack slung over his shoulder, and his suitcase firmly gripped as he walked out.

"Wait." William turned around. "Good luck out there."

William smiled. "Thank you." He left without another word.

Once he was outside, he climbed into the taxi and kept his Star City Rockets covering his hair.

"Where to, kid?" The driver asked impatiently.

"Logan Airport." William replied. "And quickly."

"Don't tell me how to do my job, kid." The driver started the car and they were on the road towards the highway.

* * *

Felicity Smoak was working diligently for two reasons: One, she was high on pure determination and coffee. Two, she had not taken a single break since the morning. All day non-stop, her fingers had flown over any keyboard that landed within her sight.

Pulling every source of information on Ricardo Diaz, she had already known everything there was to know about him as well as his past endeavors. Now, she needed to track his movements for when she found her next chance to bring him down for good.

Amidst her work, she did find blips, miniscule traces of an unknown group of assassins that Diaz might have been acquainted with. She had tried to contact Anatoly Knyazev for any new information, but he was already long gone after the ARGUS sting operation fell apart, no thanks to the fledgling vigilante, who had already become the hot topic of gossip within ARGUS.

In retrospect, Felicity sympathized with Dinah's slight disdain for him; he was messing with things he didn't understand, and because of him, Ricardo Diaz disappeared, along with any possible information Anatoly might have had on him.

The blonde hacker shook her head - she needed to find only criminal and that was the man who stole her life from her.

Her digi-murder board beeped from the corner and Felicity moved from her computer towards the buzzing device. On it, a notification glowed, indicating some new intel on Ricardo Diaz had been found.

 _The Longbow Hunters_. She read it over again.  _Who are The Longbow Hunters and what are they doing with Ricardo Diaz?_

* * *

If someone had told William Clayton a year before that he would have been a middle school dropout at just 13 years old, he would have tried to hold in his laughter out of sincerity for them.

But here he was, at the check in for Logan International Airport, after doing exactly that. He knew he was going to have to make up for all the time that he missed either through summer school or with rigorous homeschooling.

William shuddered, not wanting to think about either of those options, but the line was already moving, so he had to pay attention to his surroundings at the very least.

He had already gone over his plan of how to get back to Star City, and he just needed to figure out how he would live there. He had already decided where - it was how he would acquire food, water, and clothing, that needed to be addressed. Heat would also have to be dealt with, as he was fairly certain that the power in that place was dead from not being used for a long time.

He stepped towards the clerk for Delta Airlines.

"Where are you off to?" He asked respectively.

"Star City." He immediately answered. "One way."

"That's a bit far, especially at this time of the day." The clerk typed into the computer.

"I'm just going back home to my parents." Out of all the lies William had ever told, none had stabbed his throat more than this one. But he kept his facade, for obvious purposes. "Could I also check my suitcase?"

"That'll be $306." The clerk said and William presented $400.

The clerk looked at him suspiciously. "Where did you get this money?"

"My parents gave it to me." William said.

"I'll need to see your passport." The clerk said.

William fished into his backpack and pulled out his fake passport, with his most recent alias on it. He also put the suitcase on the ramp to be taken into the plane.

Taking a few minutes, the clerk gave it back to him. "There's a flight boarding in 45 minutes. You sure you can make it?"

"Positive." The teenager replied.

The clerk gave him an eyebrow raise but didn't say anything else until he gave him back his passport as well as his boarding pass and the change from his payment.

"Enjoy your flight."

William allowed himself to smile. "Almost forgot, where's the bathroom?"

"Near security, to the left." The clerk pointed towards the line for the TSA luggage check.

William stuffed the change in his backpack and ran towards the men's room and hid in one of the stalls. He opened his backpack and checked everything inside it: His weapons, mask, books, sweatshirt, leather jacket, gloves, wig, belt, and retainer. The rest of his stuff was in his suitcase, which was probably on its way to the airplane by then. Other than the long security check of carry-on baggage, William didn't exactly know how the TSA security actually worked, so before he left, he switched out some of his luggage for his most daring stunt: The Vanishing Airport Run.

Pulling the zipper down as far as he could, tightening his hood, William closed his eye and allowed the feeling of little ants to crawl over his entire being until he became completely invisible. Once he stepped out of the bathroom, he didn't hesitate to start moving.

It was the fastest he had ever run in his life. The amount of adrenaline pumping inside him blocked him from being able to really look at the scene around him.

The only sound he heard was the sound of his own breathing.

He kept running, never stopping to notice the TSA guards' confusion at the metal detector that was going off for no reason. Once he found the nearest bathroom, he pushed the door open and ran inside one of the stalls.

Allowing himself to be seen by the human eye, William panted from the run, he patted his hands all over his body to make sure he was in one piece and not in handcuffs or cornered by K-9's.

Letting out a sigh of relief, William brushed his hands on his sweatshirt, and walked outside towards his gate. He looked around him, and never found any guards coming after him, which meant that he had gotten away with the stunt he had just pulled. Glancing at a nearby clock, he figured he still had some time before he would have to get on the plane.

Once he found the nearest Big Belly Burger, he ordered his usual: A double cheeseburger with medium fries and a chocolate shake.

* * *

Before he could wipe his face with a napkin, William had finished his dinner and was now waiting to board the delayed flight. He sat in his seat with his lead low, and his eyes on the photo of his Uncle Roy and Aunt Thea.

It would be only a few more months before they both would welcome two new additions to the Queen Family. William knew he would probably miss it, since their location was classified and he would be out there finding Ricardo Diaz. It was one of the downsides of being the Blue Shadow - missing out on the birth of his twin cousins, a boy and a girl last time he heard from them. He was surprised that his Uncle Roy hadn't married Thea just yet.

He smiled, remembering the adventures he would have with either of them. Well, mostly Aunt missed her antics and how much she approved of "bad behavior". He also wondered how much she would approve of this type of "bad behavior".

 _Oh stop._ The Blue Shadow snarled.  _You're worried about that now?_

 _I didn't really say that._ William argued with himself.

 _You were feeling it._ The Blue Shadow argued.  _Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now._

 _Well..._ William scratched his neck absentmindedly.  _Maybe this was a mistake._

 _That's just nerves talking._ The Blue Shadow replied.  _Come on, you're tougher than that._

 _What if I'm not?_ William asked himself.  _What if I don't have what it takes? What if I can't beat Diaz, even if I find him?_

There was only silence, before he was met with,  _There's only one way to find out, right?_

William looked at the boarding gate before sighing with melancholy.  _I'm not so sure…_

 _Well then._ He heard his father's voice in his head.  _I got two words for you,_ _ **buddy**_. The last word was drenched in venom.  _Grow up._

"Flight 702, now boarding!" The flight attendants announced to the people waiting at the gate. "Flight 702, now boarding!"

As the people moved to get in line, William stayed in his seat. He weighed his choices, deciding what he should do and what he wanted to do. Only a few moments later, did William get in line and waited for about 20 minutes before it was his turn to go through the final security check.

He gave the flight attendant his passport and boarding pass. It didn't take long before she gave them back to him and William stared at the metal tunnel connecting the plane to the gate.

_No turning back._

He walked through the tunnel and waited for the crowd of people in front of him to find their seats so he could find his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You must be wondering, "Where is William going to live?" Well that's a question that'll have to be answered in the next chapter.


	21. What's Past Is Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s sort of late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!  
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

William had been doing everything to keep his silence, just to avoid disturbing the other passengers with his laughter. After all, who couldn’t smile at Jim Carrey’s on-screen antics?

 

It was no secret to his family that William was a huge Jim Carrey fan, always laughing at the movies he starred in during the 90’s, from  _ Ace Ventura: Pet Detective  _ to  _ Bruce Almighty _ . When he was 9 years old, he wrote a fan letter to the celebrity, asking him how he “stretched his face”.

 

He was too busy laughing at Reed Fletcher’s inability to lie about a pen’s color, when one of his headphones was pulled out of his ear.

 

“Kid?” The flight attendant looked at him expectantly. “We’re about to land.”

 

“Oh, right.” He put on his seatbelt, something he had forgotten to do after using the bathroom a couple of times. “Sorry.”

 

The flight attendant looked at him before he made his way down the aisle. 

 

William took one last look at the movie playing on the screen in front of him and felt tremendous weight crush his heart. As soon as he would enter Star City, he would be facing the real world: No more movies, no more TV, no more music, and no more games. He would spend all the time he had either training or finding Ricardo Diaz. 

 

Although he estimated that it would be quite some time before he found Diaz, he would not waste any just doing nothing. In fact, he would eat, sleep, breathe, laugh, and cry, without ever forgetting his mission. Not even for a moment.

 

He stared out into the window, out into the dark night where the lights of Star City gleamed like a constellation of yellow stars.

When William stepped out of the car, he was severely vexed. First, his luggage had been misplaced before the plane had taken off, then he had to spend 10 minutes finding a taxi that was cheap, and it was now raining. 

 

_ At least I have all of my Blue Shadow gear in my backpack as well as my retainer.  _ William thought to himself.  _ Now I just need to steal some deodorant, a toothbrush, and I’ll be good to go.  _

 

While his patience grew thinner as the amount of traffic increased exponentially, he kept his eye out for the taxi with the license plate number, WC702BS, which would take him to the place, if the taxi service would heed to the explicit instructions he had left them of where his destination would be.

 

Several cars and a few buses later, did he catch sight of the taxi with the license plate number that he had drilled into his brain. He ran along the sidewalk and into the street. It was a good thing that cars who picked people up at the airport were typically slow, especially during rush hour.

 

“You’re soaked, kid.” The driver said to him as soon as he got inside the cab.

 

“No shit.” He muttered. “You got my instructions?”

 

“Yep.” The driver turned up the radio and slowly moved through the river of traffic in front of them.

Only 30 minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of Jackson Avenue, which was actually several blocks away from where William intended to relocate.

 

“You sure this is the place?” The driver asked him cautiously.

 

“Yep.” William handed him some of his remaining cash and stepped out of the car. He ran down the street even as the car drove away. He ran for about half a mile before stepping inside an abandoned office building - one that his father used during his campaign for Mayor.

 

He reached inside his backpack and pulled out a flashlight, which he shined on the dusty walls, cobweb filled ceiling, and rubble scattered all over the floor.

 

William paused at the sound of something moving behind him. Something that was quick and agile. He willed himself to become invisible, reached into his bag, and pulled out his Taser. Activating it, he thrust it with all of his might at...

 

A rat sitting in front of him. 

 

William turned off his weapon and became visible once more, which frightened the poor rat enough for him to run away from the teenager.

 

“Sorry little guy!” William whisper-shouted and ran towards the secret elevator. He pressed the button but nothing worked. He wasn’t too surprised at this; Felicity did say that the place was destroyed.    
  


However, it was thanks to his Aunt Thea that William knew of a hidden ladder hidden in case the power went out or if the elevator had broken.

 

Reaching under the old desk, he opened a large  door, disguised as floorboards and shone his flashlight on a ladder and a slide, possibly for Felicity, in case her chip stopped working. It also might have for other people who could have other injuries preventing from using the ladder, such as a broken leg or a twisted ankle. 

 

He used the ladder, after closing the hatch, and made his way down to the floor. He shone his flashlight on the wall and found a door with rusted handle. 

 

Placing his bag on his floor, and the flashlight beneath his teeth, William pressed on the handle with all of his strength. It took a few tries but he finally managed to get it open.

 

When it did open, a loud creak resonated in the dark room, which made the hairs on William’s neck stand up straight.

 

He walked through his father’s bunker, which had been abandoned for almost six months, based on how much dust had coated every surface in the bunker, from every computer screen that was destroyed to a Wing Chun wooden dummy that had been blown into smithereens, along with a few tables and several tall glass cases.

 

“Home, Sweet Home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! Now that he’s on his own in Star City, how long will he last? 
> 
> Oh and one more thing: He knows that it will be utter chaos if people found out that William Clayton was back in the city, not just the police. He also knows that he can’t go out during the daytime as the Blue Shadow. What’s a young amateur to do?


	22. Connor Hawke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is everyone doing today? I hope you're all having an awesome day, but enough talk! Let us uncover what William is up to this time…
> 
> Oh and I'd like to take a moment to personally thank Laurel Vincent, a very good friend who is an excellent writer for helping me with Dinah and John's scene in this chapter! (To quote one Bart Allen: "Whoops! Spoilers!")
> 
> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

He woke up to bitter cold and the feeling that his muscles had been flattened into a pancake. He turned on the gas lantern next to him and the entire room flooded with light. He rubbed his gloved hands together, which didn't do much to help with the fact that he could see his own breath due to the low temperature surrounding him.

After William had arrived, he had found that his new living situation would be more complicated than he had anticipated. Because the entire lair had suffered tremendous damage, the whole structure of the underground base was no longer insulated to keep out the winter weather. There was only one gas tank that had semi-survived, but it wasn't enough to provide light and heat at the same time. When William had to choose between being able to see a razed compound and relaxing and tranquil heat to battle the grim freeze from up above, he picked the former.

There wasn't a centimeter of the lair that was free of ruin. The medical room was somewhat intact, but it was small enough for fitting at least two or three people. Luckily, some of the cabinets, as well as the medical supplies that were inside them had remained undamaged.

It also didn't add to his comfort that the metal table created a lot of noise even when he sat on it - noise associated to nails scratching a chalkboard. There were no beds, and live wires were scattered all over where Felicity's computers once stood.

In short, William had slept with his backpack as a pillow on the icy-cold concrete floor.

He was used to sleeping on a soft and lumpy mattress, so a stiff and unmovable surface was something that he would have to get used to if he was to survive in a concrete jungle, especially with no running water, since the pipes were also severely damaged.

Ignoring the protest his muscles made from his first night on the floor, he rummaged through the cabinets for any food source, when he spotted a mirror on the other side of one of the doors, that showed his face staring right back at him. It was then he understood, that his identity was not entirely secret.

 _If Dinah or Rene know that I'm here and not near Boston, they'll arrest me, kick my ass, and then proceed to bury me alive while singing 'Kumbaya'. Worse, if Felicity even so much as bumps into me on the street, she'll kill me, use science to bring me back, and then repeat the process for about thirteen times in a row, one for each year of my life._ He touched his face and ran his fingers through his brown hair.  _I'll have to be someone else. Or at least_ _ **look**_ _like someone else._

Luckily, William knew a former classmate of his, who might have been able to help him with his current situation.

* * *

The day flew by, and night soon fell upon the citizens of Star City. Inside a beauty salon, just a little past a Big Belly Burger, Sandra Moonday was cleaning one of the stations where mani-pedis were usually done. She was 13 years old and was currently in the 7th grade in Star City Middle School.

After her mother's salon closed, she was scrubbing out a stain in the foot tub that wouldn't come off. She was so busy that she failed to realize who was waiting behind her.

"If I were you, I'd get that replaced." He spoke aloud, causing the poor girl to jump in fright. She turned around and dropped her cleaning supplies in aghast.

"William?" She breathed out.

He lifted his hood and there he was, partially covered in dust from where he slept.

"It's good to see you, Sandra." He smiled.

"Oh my God." She ran up to him and enveloped him in a crushing hug. "Are you ok? I heard that you and your stepmom went into hiding."

Sandra was one of William's classmates and close friends when he went to school with her. They had met after being paired for a science project which involved chemicals, which led them to use some of her mother's hair products from the salon that she owned. It also happened to be where she would often help out after school, where she would acquire some experience in the work field before looking for a job.

"Yeah." William managed to catch his breath. "I'm fine. My stepmom's ok."

"What about your dad?" Sandra asked him. At William's startled look, she held up her finger and said, "I asked about your dad, dumbass. Not the Green Arrow."

William chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. He's um..." His mind trailed off, unsure of how to answer the question. How do you tell an old friend of how your father is doing while being locked behind bars for at least 25 years?

"He's doing the best he can." It was the most truthful he could be when faced with a matter like this.

"Not to be nosy, but what are you doing back in Star City?" She asked. "Of all places, I thought you'd never move back here."

William's lips drew a thin line. "That's not exactly the case." His gaze met his old friend's confused expression. "I relocated here if that'll help."

"Actually it doesn't," said Sandra. "What do you mean, 'relocated here'?"

"That's not important." William retorted quickly. "Right now, I need to know that you can keep a secret." He fished into his pocket and withdrew a bunch of $20 bills, rolled up nicely in a neat little bundle.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Please," said William. "No one can know that I stepped foot in this salon or that you ever saw me."

"What is going on?" She asked firmly.

"This is important, Sandra." said William, who handed the money to her. "$500. In exchange, can you help me make William Clayton disappear?"

"What are you really trying to say?" The Black-Korean girl tapped her fingers against her arms impatiently. "And did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

"Yes, I did," said William. "There is a method to the madness, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but..."

* * *

John Diggle strolled into Dinah's office. He wasn't surprised to see the woman working diligently on a few cases. He had always known her to be passionate about everything that she did, whether as the Black Canary or as Police Captain.

"I can only imagine what you're working on this time." Dinah put her files down and raised an eyebrow at the large man.

"I was just going to say the same thing, except I'm not sure what brings you here." John chuckled and sat down in front of her. "Is this about Diaz?"

"No," John replied quickly. "It's about Rene."

Dinah's expression darkened, but softened quickly. She was sure that he had already told Curtis about their heated argument from the other night. Knowing her former comrade, he would have already gossiped about it to John, since the former Olympic athlete knew that he would already lose an argument to her.

That was what she admired about Curtis Holt; Although he signed up to go into heated battle, he really hated fighting, which was probably why he used his T-Spheres, or as Rene called them, "his balls", more than he used his fists.

"Look, John, I already told Rene to let this go, and let the SCPD do its job." Dinah shuffled her papers aggressively. "So if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to work."

"Dinah, I'd just like to understand," said John, his tone prompting her to stop what she was doing. "Rene told me you guys argued about how vigilantes can help, and how you were against it but he wasn't." He leaned in closer to her desk. "We all went our separate ways after Oliver went to prison, but it's like you want to forget about being the Black Canary completely."

"We all have our reasons." Dinah shifted in her seat. "But mine isn't to forget my past life, it's to move on from it."

John sat back in his seat. He could see why the woman wanted to move on from wearing the mask and dive into wearing a badge. However, he suspected that there was another reason besides the immunity deal that came with the tremendous sacrifice Oliver made for all of them.

"How do you mean?" He asked quietly.

Dinah cast a brief glance at a photo of her deceased lover on her desk before focusing on John.

"I became a police officer because I wanted to make a difference in the world." She told him, fondness tracing her voice, as her past memories slowly came back to her. "I've wanted to ever since I was a kid. When I earned my badge in Central City, I thought to myself, 'This is it. This is what I have been waiting for.' But then, this happened." Her fingers brushed her throat for a brief moment. "At first I didn't understand it, but the pain of losing my partner was so fresh and so raw, that I just couldn't focus on anything other than making Vince's killer pay, which I realized then and now, was all for nothing. For three years, I lost myself, but then Oliver and you guys came along and saved me, even when I had gone too far. John, I know that the Black Canary was your Laurel's mantle, and I didn't want to take it at first. But when I put on that mask, I really thought I was helping make this world a better place, or at least this city. Then Vinnie came back, and I realized that I still wasn't over him." She stood up and faced him directly. "I shouldn't have gone behind your backs by seeing him, and I definitely shouldn't have let the pain of losing him get the better of my judgment a second time. My time with the police ever since Oliver went to prison has finally made me see that I had caused so much pain in our team when we split apart." She stood up and showed her friend her badge. "Turns out my first mission was my best mission." She tapped her badge a couple of times. "This city has lost the Green Arrow, and the immunity deal doesn't help either. But vigilantes aren't the only ones who can save lives and the law still exists for a reason."

"I see what you're saying," said John. "You want to make things right for everybody by redeeming the entire police force. By doing that, you're also redeeming yourself."

"It's not even about me." Dinah piped up. "It's not even about us. It's about the city's trust in the police, which thanks to Diaz, has gone into the gutter. Star City has suffered enough corruption within the law. As long as everyone works together, the people can count on the police being there to protect and serve to the best of their ability."

John stood up and brushed his pants slowly. "Maybe. I'm not doubting your ability as a police officer, but have you given any thought about that new vigilante kid?" Dinah looked at him pointedly. "The Blue Shadow? Rene said you two were arguing about him. That you didn't trust him."

"Rene is right then," said Dinah. "I don't trust him, because I don't know him. How can you rely on someone you don't even know?"

"You said it yourself, Dinah," said John. "You were once a vigilante, doing the police's job while wearing a mask. Although I may not agree with his methods, breaking into ARGUS and everything, he must have a reason, and I'm sure you can understand as much I'm trying to."

"That's the problem, John," said Dinah. "I do understand what he's doing, just not  **why** he's doing it. I mean, beating up a bunch of store robbers, sure I can understand that. Although I'm not sure what exactly happened with the bitch who complained about the kid interrupting her phone call, why go after Anatoly Knyazev but let him? And if he wanted to capture Diaz so badly, why didn't he make sure that he was down before stopping to chit chat with Felicity?"

"You're saying this kid has no idea what he's doing?" John asked the police captain curiously.

"I think he knows what he wants," Dinah said firmly. "I don't think he has any idea of how to get it. But in case if you haven't gotten the message yet, the last thing I need to worry about is some rookie hero who's gonna end up as roadkill."

"I understand that, Dinah," said John. "But if the time comes, can you try to keep an open mind? At least for Rene's sake?"

Dinah thought of the situation for a moment, before nodding at him. "I will try my best. But if he does something that I know he'll regret, I will have no choice but to arrest him. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

**"You want me to do what?" Sandra asked avidly.**

**William groaned, dragging his hand across his face. "I need a makeover."**

**Sandra wasn't exactly sure what to make of this request. She was open to anyone who needed a little help in the cosmetics department, it was 2018 after all, but William Clayton asking for a makeover was a bit of a surprise to her. As far as she knew, he never really fussed about his looks, unless she counted the time he discovered a zit on his neck that caused him to wear a thick jacket for the entire day.**

**"Wow." Sandra clicked her tongue. "I got to tell you, I did not expect you to come here of all places to get a makeover."**

**"Which is why I think I can trust you," William asked. "The money is like I said, insurance. But is there a way you can make me look completely unrecognizable?"**

**Sandra moved to get her supplies. While she was collecting her products, William ran to the large display windows and closed the blinds.**

**"Is your mom here? When does this place close?" He asked, looking around if anyone was coming.**

**"No, she's out, and this place closed about 10 minutes ago," Sandra replied. "So if we're gonna do this, we've got at least two hours to get this done." Just as she was rummaging through the shelves for a tarp that hadn't been used, a though fell upon her. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"**

**"Um, sure?" William answered hesitantly. "What kind of question?"**

**"Why are you even getting a makeover and where the hell you got this money?"**

**His chest deflated. He had been expecting the question about the money, but the less anyone knew, the better. At least the security camera near the ATM saw him phase his arm through the machine, and not his face.**

**"I'm here on some unfinished business," William replied, closing the last blind. "And I don't want anyone to know I'm here."**

**"So you ran away?" She questioned him with an air of suspicion.**

**"Something like it." William walked up and took off his sweatshirt. "But on top of that, what are we starting with?"**

**Sandra led him into the washing station while she put on her apron. "Put this on." She handed him a dark blue robe. "We're gonna start with your hair. Do you want it cut?"**

**William looked in the mirror as soon as he finished tying the knot on his robe. His hair had grown quite unruly in the past few months. It was probably due for a trim anyway. Perhaps more, if William were to consider the number of times his hair had fallen in front of his eyes from where his wig had held it in place.**

"Could you cut my hair so that nothing falls on my face?" William asked politely. "I mean, I don't want it shaved, I just need enough on my head to be completely covered by a hat or a wig."

Sandra raised an eyebrow and gave a small laugh. "Who do you think you're talking to? An amateur? Ok, which color do you want?" She held up a tablet of different hair colors, ranging from bright and vibrant lightness to bold and passionate dark colors.

William skimmed his hand through the colors until he settled on the one that he was sure would give him the most amount of subtlety.

"I'll settle for the dark night." He chuckled, remembering how his father kept insisting that he was a myth when he once mentioned America's most mysterious vigilante at dinner. Looking back now, William was sure that his father was slightly jealous of the caped crusader.

_Maybe one day I can go to Gotham and meet him. Just to see the look on Dad's face. William chuckled at the thought while Sandra worked on combing his hair._

* * *

"William?" Sandra asked him as she set the large spherical dryer upon his hair. "Your hair's almost done. I would recommend some colored contacts, although I don't know where to find ones that aren't prescription."

William made a noise of agreement, picking up a mirror and checking his reflection. "Got any other ideas?"

"You could probably use a hat." Sandra rummaged through one of the drawers. "And some glasses."

William scrunched his face. "But my eyesight is fine."

"One, these aren't prescription glasses." Sandra walked over and handed him a pair along with a black baseball cap. "And two put these on and hang the cap over your forehead."

The teenager did as he was instructed, and was slightly impressed at his new features. "OK." He breathed. "Not bad at all."

"I never settle on "not bad" and you know it." Sandra used air quotes on the words, "not bad", causing her friend to roll his eyes a little. "Oh and by the way, have you thought about having a new name?"

"What do you mean?" He set the mirror down and looked at her curiously.

"I mean if you're gonna not look like William, then I can't call you William, now can't I?"

William's stomach plummeted to his feet. Throughout all of his time at the salon, he never thought about having a new alias when he wasn't wearing his wig and mask. Although frankly, he hadn't had much time to think about his new disguise since his "relocation" back to Star City was only yesterday. This morning, he had to use his abilities to steal granola bars and a bottle of water from the grocery store before dropping them off in the destroyed Bunker and going to the nearest bank to make his "withdrawal".

 _Sam?_ He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together while he delved deep into his thoughts.  _Nah, too common._  He racked his brain even further, to try to come up with a suitable name.  _Bob?_ A sour taste settled in his mouth.  _Too cheesy. Max?_ He frowned at his own suggestion.  _Nope, a little below my age. Oh! What about Jack? Or Jackson._ The name seemed fitting until William remembered something crucial about it.  _It would be a pretty cool fit, if a Canadian actor wasn't already using it._

He rubbed his forehead furiously, ignoring the chimes of Sandra's vibrating phone.

"Unbelievable, William. You think of a badass vigilante name, but you can't think of a good common name?"

Luckily, Sandra was too annoyed by her brother's attempt to reach her to pay attention to her former classmate's soft mumbling.

"Sorry." She set her phone down. "That was my brother."

"It's ok." He said. "Not to rush you but how long will this take?" He pointed to the hair dryer.

"Just a few more minutes of drying and it'll be done." She said. "Unless you'd stop now-"

"NO!" He exclaimed a little too loudly, which startled the girl, making her jump a few feet in the air. "I'm sorry, Sandra."

"It's fine." She waved her hand at him. "Just be patient, alright?"

He nodded at her, but then averted his gaze at her vibrating cell phone, with her brother's ID - his name was Connor - illuminating the dark background of her cell phone.

"Excuse me," Sandra answered the phone. "Connor, I am not calling an Uber for you. I don't care, if you're bored, the last time you called an Uber, you-"

William tuned out her conversation, not wanting to invade her personal life. As he did, however, an idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.

_Connor. He repeated the name in his head slowly. "Connor." He whispered. He smiled, admiring the sound of it._

"-Just walk to the school." Sandra continued ranting into the phone. "It's right near Hawke Avenue, the store is right around the freaking corner-"

"Hawke." He kept his voice low so he couldn't disturb her phone call. "Hawk Conners? Connor Hawke?"

 _How about Connor Hawke Jr?_ The name sounded too long for the eager teen vigilante.  _No, just Connor Hawke._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's found the old Bunker, he's got the new haircut, but how long will he last as "Connor Hawke"?


	23. Explosive Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is everyone doing today? I heavily apologize for the late update and I hope you're all having an awesome day. But enough talk!

Two times, the weeks had disappeared as quickly as they came. William, or as he preferred to be called, 'Conner' saw his new living conditions as a necessary evil - one that resulted in an itchy scalp after not bathing for quite some time.

However, that never stopped him from pursuing Ricardo Diaz with as limited resources as he had, but he could never find what he was looking for because every criminal he had busted had no leads on him, even after hacking into the SCPD using a computer at the library and programming the police radio into his phone.

It seemed hopeless that he would find any trace of the madman he was after, and it didn't take long for the teenager to realize that he was severely unequipped to handle this entire mission.

But he wouldn't give up. Not until he caused enough stir to release his father from prison. So he decided that he would need help from someone who had information on Ricardo Diaz, someone who knew this city like the back of their hand. Which was precisely the root of William's dilemma:

Who would be crazy enough to help a vigilante who hadn't even started driving yet?

Even so, how would such an encounter play out? He certainly couldn't walk up to someone with a picture of Diaz and ask them, "Have you seen this man?"

Who would he even think about asking for help? He didn't have very many options, but he had quite a few in mind:

The SCPD? With the Anti-Vigilante Act in place, asking even a single officer for any information regarding criminal activity was out of the question. Captain Drake was also not an option considering she was a cop and was capable of tracking people's movements, and would definitely trace his own back to Cambridge Prep no matter how much he would try to convince her otherwise.

ARGUS? After the stunt he pulled, he was sure that not a single ARGUS agent would want to be within 10 feet of him unless he was in a maximum containment cell. Was he exaggerating? Probably. Nevertheless, it was clear that going to Lyla or John with his situation would be off the table for him.

Anatoly Knyazev? Since the night they encountered, he had not seen or heard from him and had no way to contact him.

Black Siren? She seemed like a possible choice, but the last time he had asked her for help, she turned him away, which caused both of them to fight against each other.

But who was he kidding? There was no way even a "former" criminal would help out a wannabe hero.

Was there?

* * *

**November 20, 2018**

**7:04 PM**

It was a packed house in the Glades Youth Center. People were clamoring in the building to voice their strong opinions on the SCPD's role in the city. It was Rene's idea after his daughter had told her dad of how much her classmates were divided between wanting vigilantes in the city or wanting only the police to help out.

So, of course, he, Zoe, and Dinah showed up, but to everyone's surprise, someone else had come: DA Laurel Lance.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rene asked hotly.

"My job." She replied as if she was talking about the weather. "What's it to you?"

"Not that I have anything against you coming," said Dinah. "I've never known a District Attorney to attend a town hall meeting."

Laurel allowed her Cheshire Cat smirk to come through. "Well." She replied confidently. "Then allow me to be the first."

While Zoe went to work on her algebra for her quiz the following day, the residents of the Glades settled down in their seats while Rene, Dinah, and Laurel stood by the podium where a woman formally introduced them.

"Hello." She said. "I'm Mrs. Vasquez. As most of you know, I'm the director of the Glades Youth Center. I would like to remind you that while this meeting is about voicing opinions, you must also be open to anything and treat everyone with respect, including District Attorney, Laurel Lance, and Police Captain, Dinah Drake. Mr. Ramirez, the floor is yours."

"Thank you, Rosa." Rene stepped up and cleared his throat. "Alright people, you know why we're here. Whatever you've got to say on the SCPD, now's the time to get it off your chest. If you've got nothing to say, don't stand there and look like an idiot."

"Oh, I've got something to say." An elderly man stood up. "My car got stolen and guess what I got when I called the police? 'Sorry sir, you'll have to take this up with the DMV.' "

"Right now because of massive corruption that is still being investigated, we've had very limited resources," said Dinah. "But I assure you, Mr. Weisinger, we have taken your complaint into account, and we are doing our best to get your car back."

"You know, he's right." Another man, Mr. Papp stood up. "Just yesterday, my house got broken into and guess what? When I dialed 911, nobody answered!"

"I heavily apologize for that, but we're doing the best we can with limited resources and faulty phone lines."

"I think I speak for all of us from the Glades when we say that we don't want excuses." A 19-year-old girl stood up. "We want results!"

"Yeah!" The people agreed in unison with hundreds of arguments pouring from all around the room. Dinah and Rene immediately were trying to calm them down, but their efforts were in vain.

Until Laurel took center stage and yelled, " **QUIET!** " As if her voice had an effect on them, everyone was silent as they turned their heads towards her. "Look, we all came here today to work together like civilized adults, not children in kindergarten. So before we say our piece, does anyone else have something to complain about?"

"Oh, I've got something." A woman stood up. "And frankly, it's about you, Ms. Lance: the rich part of Star City gets five squad cars for each one that the Glades get. Yeah, we know all about those cops parked near that fancy building you live in."

"Ma'am I assure you that is not the case -"

"You know when my store got robbed," A man piped up. "It took SCPD, two hours to get there! You know who showed up in minutes? Some blue haired kid wearing a mask!" The rest of the people in the hall gave the man questioning looks. "No, I am not making this up, and while he wasn't a new Green Arrow, at least someone decided to show up. So let me ask you, Captain Drake, where the hell were you and your officers?"

"I apologize for that response time, but we are doing the best we can with limited resources and-"

"Ms. Drake, Ms. Lance," The woman spoke again. "You and Mayor Pollard are in  **way** over your heads if you think you can slug along with what you got, which apparently, isn't enough."

"Ok I know we're all angry right now, but Captain Drake is here," said Rene. "And so is the DA. The least we could all do is be reasonable about the situation."

"Well facts are, Rene." said the store man. "Things were better off with the vigilantes." The crowd didn't even need encouragement to start loudly agreeing with the man before they quieted down after a few moments.

"Hold up, though." Another woman stood up. "You said some kid with blue hair saved your store?"

"Yeah, well I didn't believe it either." The storeman replied. "These guys start coming into the place, and I call 911. Then they find I'm hiding in the closet and pull me out, threatening to shoot me if I don't hand them cash, and then all of a sudden, two of them started dropping like flies as this kid with blue hair comes out of nowhere, twirling a staff. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. He kept disappearing and reappearing like he was some sort of ghost."

"Well I don't know who this kid is, but I wish that he was here too, just to offer some insight into all of this crazed up bullshit."

The sound of a soft yell reverberated in the room, which quickly transformed into a crash. The adults looked to the back of the room to find the source of the sound and saw a young teenage boy with vibrant royal blue hair lying on one of the tables.

"Ow." He pulled himself up, wincing at the sore muscles he was going to feel into the next morning.

Having taken care of children who often got into skateboarding accidents, Mrs. Vasquez immediately ran to the teenager. "Little one, are you hurt? Here, let me help you." Other than a few scrapes, he seemed to be perfectly fine.

"Don't worry about me." He panted out. "My spleen was already ruptured."

When he looked at the people who were staring at him, William had never been more unnerved. He had first dealt with the attention of at least 100 people before when he played the piano in a talent show a few years ago, but that moment was one he had prepared for, as was dealing with hundreds of reporters. Now, he was center stage once again, but for all the wrong reasons, which made the situation even worse. Luckily, the Blue Shadow was there to help William cope with his sudden stage fright.

"Well, isn't this a turnout?" He asked in an upbeat tone. "Here you guys are throwing this huge party, and I wasn't even invited. I mean come on, the SCPD is here," He saw Laurel make her way past Rene. "And apparently so is the DA." His voice dropped to bitter cold.

"Oh goodie, you're back," Laurel replied in a similar tone.

"You know him?" Rene asked her immediately.

"This kid broke into my apartment," Laurel announced firmly.

"Ok, I didn't actually 'break in'." The boy backed away slowly. "I just entered your house without your permission."

Laurel wasn't amused, and neither was Dinah. Both women were beginning to run out of patience.

"That's what breaking in means, kid," said Laurel. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." said the Blue Shadow.

"Ok, that's it." Dinah walked up, but Rene held her back for just a moment. "Open mind, D. Open mind." She walked past the other transfixed adults, slowly making her way up to the boy while her cop brain started to take pictures on his appearance:

A young teenage boy, who looked around fifteen years old, was wearing a black domino mask and a black leather jacket. This jacket, which she immediately recognized as the stolen ARGUS property, was unzipped, revealing his royal blue t-shirt to the world. A small belt was also fastened to his waist that held only a few weapons, including a small Taser. He also wore black pants and black Converse sneakers with white laces.

His hair was a dead giveaway to what he called himself, but whether it was dyed or just a wig, she didn't know, but this was the person whom ARGUS had been looking for; the Blue Shadow.

"Kid." She said to him in a firm yet gentle voice - the kinda teacher would use when disciplining a student. "What are you doing here?"

"I come in peace." He replied, bringing his hands in the air, but kept his distance to make sure that she wouldn't arrest him. "I'm not here to hurt anybody. I was on patrol in the Glades when I heard something about a town hall meeting. I was curious, so I decided to see what the fuss was about."

Dinah gave him a look of skepticism. "Really? Is that why you literally crashed this meeting?"

"Ok, that, I admit was a bad idea on my part." said the Blue Shadow. "I was trying to get a closer look on what you guys were doing so I phased my head through the catwalk up there." He pointed to the metallic pathway above them and looked at her embarrassedly. "Come on, we've all had epic fails, right?" Dinah narrowed her eyes, looking for any holes in his story, which there were quite a few, despite his efforts. Although his claims seemed genuine enough, she already knew that the mask he wore, concealed more than his identity.

"What's wrong?" The teenager asked. "You look like you don't believe me."

Dinah gave a knowing smirk. "That's because I want to, but I can't."

"Come on, you cops wear blue." He gestured to her shirt. "I wear blue." He waved his hands above his head and his own shirt. "Can't we just talk?"

"You can talk when you answer some questions back at the station," said Dinah.

As if he could sense that the Blue Shadow was rubbing her the wrong way, Rene was already walking towards them.

"Look, kid." said Rene. "I'm not a cop, but I only wanna talk."

"Ok." The vigilante answered honestly.

"I don't know who you are, or what you think you're doing, but I only wanna help."

The Blue Shadow rolled his eyes. "Well duh. That's why it's called a 'codename.' " He made air quotes around the word codename. "You should get one sometime, they're pretty badass these days. As for what I'm doing, you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."

Rene laughed at his answer. As Wilddog, he had seen ninjas, aliens, doppelgangers, monsters, metahumans, and who could forget the Nazis from Earth X last year?

So he was sure that there was nothing about this kid that would possibly surprise him.

The Blue Shadow seemed to have picked up on Rene's unspoken challenge. He raised his head a little higher and cleared his throat. "See, the thing is -"

**BOOM!**

The entire building shook, and the people inside it struggled to regain their balance.

"What the hell was that?" The Blue Shadow asked. "That wasn't a bomb, wasn't it?"

"If it was, we'd all be dead right now." said Rene. "Either way we gotta move the hell out of here!"

Dinah walked back to the rest of the adults yelling, "Evacuate! Evacuate! Everyone make your way toward the exits, let's go!"

"Go! Go!" The Blue Shadow ran towards the far corners and frantically waved at the door to signal the adults to move faster. The more people ran out the door, the closer the Blue Shadow got to Rene and Dinah.

"I got to get Zoe."

Immediately, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the door Rene was also running toward to.

"Zoe!" He yelled, running down the hallway with his sleeve over his mouth. "Zoe!"

He ran up and down the corridor, looking in every room, but the fire was too bright for him to look close enough. But he had to keep trying, and soon found a small hand in the blaze. He phased through the flames and pulled out an unconscious Zoe from under a steel desk. She was bleeding from her head, but she was still alive.

William wasn't sure how much carbon monoxide she had already inhaled, but he wasn't taking any chances. He tried to lift her up, but quickly let her go into Rene's arms.

"Is she ok?" He asked worriedly, checking her for severe injuries.

"She's alive, but she needs to get to the hospital." The Blue Shadow walked towards the concrete wall, took off his gloves and placed his hands on the wall, focusing all of his ghostly energy onto it.

As soon as he did, he felt the familiar chill consume his entire being but felt building pressure inside him, particularly in his nose. He had never extended his power beyond his own body along with the clothes on it and had only used his abilities in combat, but he didn't have a choice if he wanted Zoe and her dad to make it out alive.

"The hell?" Rene gazed at the immense silvery veil that was once the wall. It was moving on its own, intertwining with itself, and weaving patterns of solid lines only to break apart and form again. He couldn't tell whether the mist was even alive or not.

"Run through this wall." The Blue Shadow wheezed out. Rene didn't know how much of an amateur he was, but he could tell that the kid was struggling with the wall due to the spot of blood beneath his nostrils.

"What?"

" **Just do it**!"

Rene held his daughter close to him and ran through the veil, with an unpleasant chill clinging onto him as he entered the outside world.

"HEY!" Rene had never run faster in his life. "My daughter's hurt!"

"Shit!" Dinah was livid at the sight of Zoe's injured state and rushed some paramedics over with a cot. Once Rene laid her down, an oxygen mask was strapped over her face and was rushed into the ambulance.

"Make sure she gets the best care!" Rene yelled at the ambulance before it took off. "What the hell happened?" He asked Dinah.

"The bomb is being investigated right now, and the police are securing the place even as we speak," said Dinah. "But what happened in there, Rene?"

"It was the Blue Shadow." Rene coughed. "He saved my baby girl."

* * *

He wasn't' entirely sure how far he had run from the Youth Center, but he wanted to get as far away from the smoke as possible. After going back in and rescuing a couple of janitors, the Blue Shadow had run out and never stopped.

High on adrenaline, he continued to run down the street until he was knocked to the ground by a high pitched scream.

The sound continued to ring in his ears until he looked up to find Laurel kneeling down, looking at him furiously.

" _ **What were you thinking?!**_ " She shouted in his ear. " _ **You could have been killed!**_ "

The Blue Shadow spat blood out of his mouth. "I was just trying to help out!"

"Yeah, well guess what?" She raised his shoulder to the air. "You trying to help is just going to get you killed!"

"Why do you fucking care?!"

William pushed Laurel away and ran down a nearby alley, ignoring Laurel's pleas for him to stop. He opened a manhole and climbed down the steps before jumping off and running down a tunnel. The smell of excrement and rotten food immediately overrode his senses, but he pushed his gag reflex down when he stopped in front of a closed off section of the sewer; a small circular space leading into another tunnel blocked off by a gate completely blocking the entrance.

Just as he was phasing through it, Laurel came running up to him.

"I am trying to save your life!"

The Blue Shadow pulled his arm through the metal bars. "Make up your mind, already!"

"What?!" Laurel gripped the bars tightly.

"First you want to listen to me, next you try to kill me, then you give me the cold shoulder, and now you're trying to save me? Again, why do you care what happens to me?"

He began walking into the dark tunnel, not wanting Laurel to interfere with his mission anymore.

"Because I was you."

The Blue Shadow froze, unsure of how to comprehend what she had just said to him. They were only three feet apart, but it was as if Laurel had spoken directly into his ear.

"I was you." She repeated. "Alone and scared. Looking for something when I had no clue how I was going to find it or what it actually was."

William didn't want to hear it at first, but the more he thought it over, the more he realized how right she was. But how could she have possibly known what kind of emotions he was experiencing? How could she have understood his situation? It was quite bizarre for William that Laurel could sum up his heart's content in just a couple of sentences. It was almost as if she was inside his head right at that moment.

"Are you trying to be nice to me?" He asked only to get a glance from her. "I just thought that you hated me."

"No, I don't hate you, kid," said Laurel. "I just don't like you. That doesn't mean I want you dead."

"I know." He walked up to her and leaned against the bars. "If you wanted me dead, you would have done it alredy."

"Kid." She leaned in closer, taking a closer look into his eyes; they were blue, just like his hair and shirt, but also desperate and frustrated, bringing Laurel back to her early days as Black Siren. "I wasn't trying to kill you on the roof that night, I was only trying to make you see reason; you're young, and you have potential, but you're wasting it on street thugs and psychopaths. Trust me, finding the man who took your family from you, won't make things any better. In fact, it'll only make your life even worse."

William had nothing against Black Siren, but what she was saying was quite difficult to believe. They were two completely different people from different worlds, literally! Besides, he didn't entirely know who she was, and she didn't know who he really was either. How could she possibly understand what he was going through?

"So?" He asked quietly.

"It's our choices that make us who we are, Blue Shadow." She said. "Now you have to make a choice."

"Who are you to talk about choices, Black Siren?" The Blue Shadow retorted sharply. "Yeah, that's right. My parents told me about you. I don't know what you've been through, but I do know this." He gripped the bars with both of his hands stuck his head out just enough for Laurel to clearly understand him.

"My choices are my own. I know the price for wearing this wig is going to be a big one, but I will do whatever it takes to get my family back."

He walked back into the tunnel, and just when he was a little further down, suddenly, he felt something thin and metallic graze his shoe. He could barely see what was, but a slow beeping noise echoed in the tunnel.

His instincts took over his brain. His feet turned towards the gate and carried him towards Laurel, as he jumped through it, tackling her to the ground as the beeping came to a sudden halt.

And the world exploded around them.


	24. Start of Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer (cover your ears) I DON'T OWN ARROW OR ANY OF THE CW CHARACTERS!

William hated surprises. No, he despised them to a certain degree. Whatever was unknown to him, he would waste no time learning anything and everything about it.

Unfortunately, life has a way of being bluntly unpredictable, which was how the Blue Shadow and Laurel found themselves on the floor, coughing and wheezing as if they couldn't breathe. Well, they could, but it was what they had inhaled that posed as a problem.

"What?" He coughed again and again. "Wha…" He coughed. "Is this?" He coughed again.

"Dust." Laurel hacked out a few coughs. "Too…" She coughed again. "Too much of it."

The teenager coughed a few more times, which left his throat feeling like sandpaper.

"Why?" He asked.

Laurel stood up shakily, despite not being able to see anything in the dark sewer. "It's the sewer." Her voice was akin to sawdust being ground in a mill. "There probably hasn't been maintained in years."

He coughed again. "Good to know." His voice sounded like a rusty chain in a motor. "Where are you?"

"Right here." The Blue Shadow looked around but all he could see was pitch black, which only made the situation even worse when his foot was suddenly caught by something, causing him to trip caught over himself and his head suddenly banged against the rubble in front of him.

He got an unpleasant feeling that his brain had been literally rattled in its confinement.

"Kid?" A bright light shone upon him, and the boy hissed in pain as his irritated eyes clamped shut to avoid the brightness even when the light penetrated his skull. Figuratively speaking of course.

"Slow down, kid." Laurel crouched down to meet his glazed eyes. She observed him intently for a few more seconds and then shone her phone's flashlight above him again, and the boy instantly recoiled.

"Get it away from me." He grumbled before coughing again, which only caused even more pain to reverberate in his head.

"Just as I thought," said Laurel. She shone her phone's light over the cause of the boy's injury: A tangled mess of wires wrapped around his foot.

"You're lucky that this was a small but flat surface." Laurel brushed her hands over the piece of rubble where the teenager's head had made an impact. Her clothes were already taking an ashy tone from the amount of dust in the thin air around them. "We need to get out of here." She coughed a couple of times.

"How?" The Blue Shadow asked, fighting the wave of dizziness that suddenly hit him when he was able to remove the mess of wires from his ankle.

"I don't know." Laurel coughed again as she shone her phone's flashlight around them, being careful to avoid the Blue Shadow's half-closed eyes. "I don't think I can scream." She pointed to her throat. "Can you use  **your** powers?"

The Blue Shadow shrugged, closing his eyes and tried to concentrate on his ghost-like abilities, but with the concussion he had, that was impossible.

"I'm trying, but my head is killing me."

* * *

Rene Ramirez paced back and forth agitatedly while Dinah kept herself calm and collected, despite her niece being behind the hospital doors being checked upon by the doctors.

"When is that doctor gonna talk to me?" Rene asked all of a sudden.

"This is a hospital, Rene," said Dinah. "You can't rush doctors and nurses who are doing their job."

Rene whirled around in a snap. "D, my baby girl is in there, probably fighting for her life! So excuse me if I don't have a fucking clue about what to expect!" He pointed to the double doors where Zoe was being examined by a few doctors.

"Rene, she's a fighter," Dinah said to him. "But right now you need to keep that head of yours where it needs to be. For her."

Rene silently agreed to the police captain's words, knowing full well how right she was.

Just then, the doors opened for a nurse who seemed to know what Rene must have been thinking from the expression he was wearing.

"Mr. Ramirez?" She asked, and the man nodded immediately. "She's gonna be alright." Rene let out a breath he never realized he had been holding for a long time. "She's just knocked out, but she wasn't too close to where the explosion occurred. However, she did inhale quite a bit of smoke, so we're gonna hold her for a couple of nights as a precaution."

"Can I go see her?" Rene asked.

The nurse nodded. "She's in room 324."

"Go," Dinah said to him. "Tell her that I'll be back to visit her."

"Why?" Rene asked.

"Just got an alert," said Dinah. "Reports of a disturbance were just turned into an explosion in the sewers. The entire area is evacuated."

* * *

Back in the sewers, Laurel and the Blue Shadow tried to survey the area, looking for any chances of escape. It seemed utterly hopeless to even think of escaping their current predicament.

The only source of light that they had was the flashlight on Laurel's phone. William had left his back in the destroyed Bunker.

"Ok." The Blue Shadow paced in the small space they were both in. "We're trapped in a sewer that just blew up around us, we're both unable to use our powers because of physical impairments, and on top of that, there's no service to call someone."

"And?" Laurel's tone was impatient.

The Blue Shadow's eyes darted around rapidly. "And what?"

"Your point." She replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What is it?"

"Actually there is no point." He said. "I was just stating the obvious."

"Well thank you for doing nothing that can get us out of here." Laurel retorted bitterly.

"Have you tried using your scream?" The Blue Shadow asked.

Laurel's glare intensified. "Do you know how much effort it even takes to talk?"

"Just try, please."

Laurel took a few steps forward and opened her mouth to scream. The only sound that came out was a combination of someone choking and gagging at the same time.

"See?" Laurel looked at him. "Now it's your turn."

"What?" The Blue Shadow asked.

"Get us out of here." Laurel snapped her fingers and pointed to the large mass of rubble in front of them. "Phase us or whatever you call it."

The Blue Shadow nodded, focusing on his ghost-like abilities, but when he did, beating pain spread all over his head, which overrode his senses.

"Kid!" Laurel yelled at him. "Could you hurry this up and get us out of this hole?"

"I'm trying." The Blue Shadow had to keep himself from losing his temper. "It hurts too much."

"Aww, does it hurt too bad?" Laurel mocked him brazenly. "Does the little vigilante need his bottle?"

"Not. Helping." The Blue Shadow tried to get ahold of himself, but each time he pushed himself to concentrate, the pain only worsened.

"I'm not trying to help," said Laurel. "Get over yourself and use your powers!"

"I'm trying!" The pain got worse and worse, and the Blue Shadow felt like his skull was going to split in two.

"Try harder!" Laurel pressed on.

" _ **I can't!**_ "

The boy curled over and suddenly expelled what was left of his lunch on the floor and onto Laurel's high heels. Instead of recoiling in disgust, Laurel looked at the boy with disgust, wondering how such a confident young man could be so pathetic right before her eyes.

Until she remembered, he was a kid with a head injury and probably didn't have a high pain tolerance, which was something that wasn't developed by being yelled at. Who was she to belittle someone like that, even when she knew it wouldn't accomplish anything?

"Laurel?" The Blue Shadow groaned, looking at her apologetically. "I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Save it, kid." Laurel kicked off her shoes and went to help him stand up. "Look, I admit that I'm not the best person to be around, but right now it seems that we don't have a choice if we both want to make it out of here."

The Blue Shadow nodded, seeming to understand what Laurel was trying to say through his somewhat confused state.

"How do we do that exactly?" He asked.

Laurel looked around, silently asking herself the same question until her sharp eyes landed upon the rock covering the space where the rusted gate was before the explosion.

"I remember seeing a small keypad right next to the gate when I came after you." Laurel pointed to the rock-covered area. "If we dig our way through the rocks in that area, we can use it to open the gate, which will probably cause enough force to clear a path."

The Blue Shadow coughed a couple of times before clearing what was left of the phlegm in his throat. "Sounds like a good plan, but something doesn't make sense here." Laurel gave him a questioning look, nodding at him to continue. "Who sets up booby traps in a sewer?"

"There's only one answer to that question, kid." She said. "And it's someone who doesn't want to be found."

"So you're saying there could be more booby traps down there?" The Blue Shadow asked hesitantly.

"I'm saying that where there's a way out, there's someone on the other end of that tunnel hiding from law enforcement."

A long silence hung in the thin air between them, until the Blue Shadow spoke, "So we escape by running towards whoever just tried to kill us?"

"It's a long shot." Laurel brushed her hand against the pile of rocks. "But it's the only option we got."

The Blue Shadow nodded and then moved his gaze down to where Laurel's vomit-covered high heels were lying.

"Do you mind if I borrow this?" He held one up.

Laurel looked at him confusedly. "Why?"

The Blue Shadow walked up to the rocks in front of him and dug the shoe into the pile, pulling out bits and pieces of rubble. Laurel seemed to get the message and picked up the other shoe and started using it to dig her way through.

* * *

When Zoe woke up, the first thing she noticed was her dad staring at her.

"Daddy?" She asked, rising a little in her bed.

"Easy, sweetheart." Rene pushed her down. "Just try to relax."

"What happened?" She asked, taking a look at the hospital room around her. "Why am I in the hospital?"

"What do you remember?" Rene asked slowly.

Zoe's fingers gently tapped the breathing tube plugged into her nose. "I was doing my math homework and then something blew up."

Rene chuckled. "Actually it was the Glades Youth Center that blew up." Zoe looked at her father alarmingly. "It was only one section of it. Doctors say that you weren't too close to where it happened."

"Is anyone else hurt?" She asked.

"A few people got injured but no one died." Rene smiled at the knowledge of it. "The Blue Shadow might have had something to do with it."

Zoe tilted her head. "Who?"

Being the brutally honest man that he was, Rene started to tell her everything that he knew about the mysterious vigilante.

But when he reached the part about his ghost-like abilities, Zoe remembered the name of one person who had told her about the exact same powers that her father was now describing to her.

William Clayton.

* * *

It had taken almost an hour before the shoe that William was holding made a clanging sound.

"Laurel?" He whispered in the darkness. Laurel had to switch off her phone to save the battery.

"Kid?" She whispered. Both she and the kid's voices hadn't improved since inhaling the dust from the explosion. "Where are you?"

"Right here." His strained voice only clawed its way from his throat as Laurel swept her hands on the wall until she felt the synthetic fibers of the teenager's wig. She quickly took out her phone, turned on its flashlight, and shone it over where the kid was just completing his excavation of the rusted keypad she saw.

"Hold this." She handed the vigilante his phone and studied the keyboard for a little bit. After a few attempts, Laurel punched in the code, and a rumbling sound echoed through the sewer. The ground violently until the large boulder covering the gate fell apart, opening a large hole, with the last bits of the gate disappearing into the ground.

"When you said this place needed maintenance, you weren't kidding." The Blue Shadow gaped at the dark tunnel in front of him. While Laurel put her shoes back on, he leaned down and brushed his hand against the floor when Laurel suddenly grabbed it.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked hotly.

The Blue Shadow raised an eyebrow at her. "Looking for more booby traps, what's it look like I'm doing?"

"Did you forget there's something called a pressure sensitive floor?"

The Blue Shadow quickly retracted his hand from the ground as if it were molten lava. "Point taken."

Laurel gave a smug smile and then looked back into the tunnel. "Alright kid, I don't know how many booby traps are left if there are any, but I do know what they look like so I think it's best if I take the lead here."

"You are the one with the flashlight." said the Blue Shadow.

"Exactly." Laurel felt something squeeze her hand and raised it to find one of the vigilante's gloved hands holding her own.

"What are you doing?" Laurel asked him in a confused manner.

"So neither of us gets separated." The Blue Shadow replied confidently.

Laurel shrugged her shoulders, agreeing to this idea, and tried to move, but found that the young teenager did not. She looked at him and saw only fear take hold of his entire being.

"Kid, we have to go." She tugged his arm. "It's going to be ok."

"How do you know?" He replied. "How do you know we're not gonna die in this tunnel?"

"I don't."

The Blue Shadow, ignoring the panic that froze within in his muscles as well as the persistent throbbing in his skull, walked into the tunnel with Laurel, never breaking away from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOO! I gotta tell you this took a while to work on!
> 
> "Who sets up booby traps in a sewer?"
> 
> Well why don't we find out for ourselves when Laurel and Wiliam find themselves in someone's lair?
> 
> But as for Zoe, it seems we have quite the predicament! Does she remain loyal to her best friend and maintain the secrecy of his abilities? Or does she tell her dear old dad, someone she has always been honest with?
> 
> What to do...what to do….


End file.
